Road lengths
Data and statistics about the estimates of the length of all roads maintained.
Road length statistics
Road length statistics provide estimates of the length of all roads maintained at public expense in Great Britain, by road category, region and local authority.
Within these statistics, roads are classified as either “major” or “minor”. Major roads include motorways and all class ‘A’ roads. These roads usually have high traffic flows and are often the main arteries to major destinations. Minor roads comprise ‘B’ and ‘C’ classified roads in addition to unclassified roads. Further information on these road classes and the underlying data sources can be found in the road length guidance published alongside the release.
In addition to road class, road lengths statistics are classified by urban and rural roads. Urban roads are major and minor roads that sit within a built-up area, with a population of 10,000 or more in England and Wales or 3,000 or more in Scotland. Rural roads are major and minor roads outside urban areas.
In England and Wales, the urban and rural road length figures are based on the definition published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is derived from the 2011 census. The current urban and rural road length figures for Scotland use definitions published by the Scottish government based on populations in 2020.
Road length information on current and previous road length statistics are available.
About the road lengths data and reports
Guide to road length statistics, source documents, accompanying notes, definitions and supporting technical documents.
These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in February 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled accredited official statistics.
Updates to this page
Last updated 21 March 2024 + show all updates
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Road lengths in Great Britain report for the year 2023 added and text on the information on road lengths updated.
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First published.