Practical driving test pass rates in the United Kingdom 2007-2020, by gender

Men were consecutively more likely than women to pass practical driving tests in the United Kingdom. In the past nine years, the gap between pass rates for male and female participants has stayed relatively stable, recording a net increase of 2.3 percent for men and 1.1 percent for women. This was despite a noticeable slump in the most recently surveyed time period. Practical and theory tests for car driving have been separated since 1997, with the last change in practical test layout implemented in December 2017. That month, only 45 percent of those taking the practical test had passed.

Women more likely to pass theory test

This statistic shows that women still struggled more than their male counterparts during the practical driving test. Interestingly, figures for pass rates of theory tests showed the exact opposite. In 2018/19, female participants were 3.5 percent more likely than men to be successful, although the gap has been narrowing in recent years. There was a prominent decline in the share of successful theory tests. This development is likely due to new theory questions no longer being released online as of 2012.

Number of practical tests taken stable

Figures for number of practical driving tests taken declined for the third consecutive year in 2019/20, amounting to about 1.6 million.