In Belgium, an average of 16,500 cars are stolen per year, which corresponds to 45 cars per day. This puts our country in ninth place in the weighted European ranking.
Online insurer Confused.com requested figures from Eurostat about car thefts between 2011 and 2019 and set to work. With 145 thefts per year per 100,000 inhabitants, Belgium scores rather poorly. The Netherlands is doing even less well with 201, but in Germany only 71 car thefts occur per 100,000 inhabitants. At the very top of the European ranking is Italy, with 276 thefts per 100,000 people per year. That is no less than 80% more than the United Kingdom and 5% more than France, two countries with a similar population.
With an average of 274 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, the Czech Republic is in second place, followed by Sweden (266) in third place. Compared to its Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden experiences 91% more thefts annually than Finland (139) and a whopping 138% more than Norway (112). With only five car thefts per 100,000 people per year, Danish drivers have the lowest risk of a car theft of all Europeans.
Tips
How to prevent your car from being stolen? Insurance expert Alex Kindred at Confused.com offers some tips. “Have the vehicle identification number engraved on each of the windows. Thieves then have to pay to replace the glass. And leave your car in gear when you park it, and with the wheels facing the curb. That makes it more difficult for thieves to tow your vehicle.”
British study: “Just park your car in a dark place”
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