Auckland, also known as the City of Snails, is living up to its name for being the most congested city in New Zealand. It is also ranked no. 15 in a report prepared by navigation company TomTom.

TomTom has compiled a list of cities with the most traffic by comparing the congestion levels in 169 cities around the world. The firm has found that cities in New Zealand were currently experiencing some of the biggest congestion levels.

Aside from Auckland at 15th place, Christchurch follows closely at 17th while Wellington ranked 37th. According to the report, New Zealanders are spending an average of 101 hours in a year stuck in peak-hour traffic with Auckland experiencing the biggest increase in congestion levels compared to other cities in Australia and the rest of New Zealand.

TomTom said the congestion level in Auckland for the June quarter had measured at 34 per cent compared to 30 per cent in 2012. Christchurch's congestion level has reached 32 per cent while Wellington had a 28 per cent level.

People living in Auckland go through traffic an average of 47 minutes for each one hour of driving. TomTom's report also revealed that Tuesday mornings are the worst times of traffic in Auckland with an 85 per cent congestion level.

Aucklanders will enjoy driving either on a Monday evening or Friday morning when congestion levels are less than 60 per cent.

TomTom's survey has listed Moscow, Russia as the most congested city in the world followed by Turkey's Istanbul and Poland's Lodz. According to a TomTom representative, Beijing, Bangkok and New Delhi, were not included in the list. The three cities were usually included in other lists measuring traffic congestion.

TomTom's report is based on information taken from the travel time of customers in cities. The company representative said it was the second time for New Zealand's cities to be on the list.

TomTom Asia Pacific vice-president Chris Kearney said the congested cities report aims to help governments of the listed cities to make more informed decisions on minimizing traffic congestion.

According to the New Zealand Transport Agency, it already has plans to improve the flow of traffic in congested cities with investments infrastructure and transport services. The agency said it is planning to invest in cycling and walking facilities so people will have the choice of travelling by foot or bicycle.

Australia's Sydney is also on list as the 17th most congested city in the world.