Qatar vs United States: Tonne-kilometers of air freight

Qatar
13.93 billion million ton-km
in 2023
United States
42.76 billion million ton-km
in 2023
Qatar rank
3rd
United States rank
1st

Tonne-kilometers of air freight over time

  • Qatar
  • United States
010.0B20.0B30.0B40.0B50.0B197019962023

How they compare

United States currently reports 42.76 billion million ton-km against 13.93 billion million ton-km in Qatar, a difference of 28.84 billion million ton-km.

That makes United States's figure about 3.1 times Qatar's.

Across all 50 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

Qatar ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st of 180 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Qatar United States Difference Ahead
1970s 7.47 million million ton-km 7.78 billion million ton-km 7.77 billion million ton-km United States
1980s 29.31 million million ton-km 10.59 billion million ton-km 10.56 billion million ton-km United States
1990s 102.19 million million ton-km 20.02 billion million ton-km 19.91 billion million ton-km United States
2000s 851.83 million million ton-km 35.16 billion million ton-km 34.31 billion million ton-km United States
2010s 7.50 billion million ton-km 39.70 billion million ton-km 32.20 billion million ton-km United States
2020s 14.35 billion million ton-km 43.88 billion million ton-km 29.53 billion million ton-km United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher tonne-kilometers of air freight, Qatar or United States?
United States, at 42.76 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 Qatar and United States?
28.84 billion million ton-km, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Qatar and United States?
50 years are reported by both, from 1974 to 2023.
How do Qatar and United States rank globally for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
Qatar ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st 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

Indicator
Tonne-kilometers of air freight
Unit
million ton-km
Source
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 7,506 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

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.