China vs Qatar: Tonne-kilometers of air freight
China
26.17 billion million ton-km
in 2023
Qatar
13.93 billion million ton-km
in 2023
China rank
2nd
Qatar rank
3rd
Tonne-kilometers of air freight over time
- China
- Qatar
How they compare
China currently reports 26.17 billion million ton-km against 13.93 billion million ton-km in Qatar, a difference of 12.24 billion million ton-km.
That makes China's figure about 1.9 times Qatar's.
Across all 50 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and Qatar ranks 3rd of 180 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Qatar | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 65.57 million million ton-km | 7.47 million million ton-km | 58.10 million million ton-km | China |
| 1980s | 391.14 million million ton-km | 29.31 million million ton-km | 361.83 million million ton-km | China |
| 1990s | 1.75 billion million ton-km | 102.19 million million ton-km | 1.64 billion million ton-km | China |
| 2000s | 7.56 billion million ton-km | 851.83 million million ton-km | 6.71 billion million ton-km | China |
| 2010s | 19.85 billion million ton-km | 7.50 billion million ton-km | 12.35 billion million ton-km | China |
| 2020s | 21.34 billion million ton-km | 14.35 billion million ton-km | 6.99 billion million ton-km | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher tonne-kilometers of air freight, China or Qatar?
- China, at 26.17 billion million ton-km against 13.93 billion million ton-km in Qatar as of 2023.
- What is the difference in tonne-kilometers of air freight between China and Qatar?
- 12.24 billion million ton-km, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Qatar?
- 50 years are reported by both, from 1974 to 2023.
- How do China and Qatar rank globally for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
- China ranks 2nd and Qatar ranks 3rd of 180 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Tonne-kilometers of air freight. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tonnes times kilometers traveled.