Germany vs Japan: Tonne-kilometers of air freight
Germany
12.77 billion million ton-km
in 2023
Japan
8.47 billion million ton-km
in 2023
Germany rank
5th
Japan rank
8th
Tonne-kilometers of air freight over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Germany currently reports 12.77 billion million ton-km against 8.47 billion million ton-km in Japan, a difference of 4.29 billion million ton-km.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.5 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 54 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 5th and Japan ranks 8th of 180 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 2 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 946.55 million million ton-km | 893.34 million million ton-km | 53.21 million million ton-km | Germany |
| 1980s | 2.45 billion million ton-km | 3.24 billion million ton-km | 791.03 million million ton-km | Japan |
| 1990s | 5.33 billion million ton-km | 6.36 billion million ton-km | 1.03 billion million ton-km | Japan |
| 2000s | 7.96 billion million ton-km | 8.56 billion million ton-km | 596.48 million million ton-km | Japan |
| 2010s | 7.45 billion million ton-km | 8.47 billion million ton-km | 1.02 billion million ton-km | Japan |
| 2020s | 11.58 billion million ton-km | 9.24 billion million ton-km | 2.34 billion million ton-km | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher tonne-kilometers of air freight, Germany or Japan?
- Germany, at 12.77 billion million ton-km against 8.47 billion million ton-km in Japan as of 2023.
- What is the difference in tonne-kilometers of air freight between Germany and Japan?
- 4.29 billion million ton-km, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 54 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2023.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
- Germany ranks 5th and Japan ranks 8th 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.