ZIMBABWE has been ranked the third scariest country to drive in, globally, by the Scrap Car Comparison, a guide website headquartered in the United Kingdom.

With a score of 6.9 out of 10, Zimbabwe is just below Venezuela which scored 6.97 and India which was placed first with a 7.15 score.

To find out, Scrap Car Comparison conducted a global survey involving over 2,000 motorists, where they were asked to answer out of 10 on how nervous they would be to drive in each country.

"We also wanted to help drivers around the world stay safe on the roads," said Scrap Car Comparison.

Zimbabwe's poor rural road network was cited as a major reason for the score. It got rare praise for its maintenance of urban roads.

"Roads in Zimbabwe are generally kept in good condition, particularly in big cities, however, roads in rural areas are less well maintained," read the report.

"Fuel shortages are also relatively common in the country."

Morocco (fourth) and Tunisia (seventh) are the only other African countries in the Top 10.

An Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme, introduced by the government and mainly funded by ZINARA has greatly improved the state of roads, particularly highways in Zimbabwe.

Potholed, with no clear markings and in some areas completely absent, Zimbabwe's road network needed attention.

At one time declared a national disaster, ZINARA has so far disbursed over ZW$2 billion (about US$50 million) for rehabilitation of roads across the country. The figure represents 91% of its budget for this year.