Japan vs South Korea: Reported passenger kilometers
Japan
289.89 billion passenger-kilometers
in 2021
South Korea
100.38 billion passenger-kilometers
in 2019
Japan rank
3rd
South Korea rank
5th
Reported passenger kilometers over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 289.89 billion passenger-kilometers against 100.38 billion passenger-kilometers in South Korea, a difference of 189.51 billion passenger-kilometers.
That makes Japan's figure about 2.9 times South Korea's.
Across all 50 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 5th of 63 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 309.66 billion passenger-kilometers | 13.89 billion passenger-kilometers | 295.77 billion passenger-kilometers | Japan |
| 1980s | 333.29 billion passenger-kilometers | 27.67 billion passenger-kilometers | 305.62 billion passenger-kilometers | Japan |
| 1990s | 396.06 billion passenger-kilometers | 44.48 billion passenger-kilometers | 351.57 billion passenger-kilometers | Japan |
| 2000s | 391.31 billion passenger-kilometers | 54.25 billion passenger-kilometers | 337.06 billion passenger-kilometers | Japan |
| 2010s | 419.46 billion passenger-kilometers | 76.35 billion passenger-kilometers | 343.11 billion passenger-kilometers | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher reported passenger kilometers, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 289.89 billion passenger-kilometers against 100.38 billion passenger-kilometers in South Korea as of 2021.
- What is the difference in reported passenger kilometers between Japan and South Korea?
- 189.51 billion passenger-kilometers, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 50 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2019.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for reported passenger kilometers?
- Japan ranks 3rd and South Korea ranks 5th of 63 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Reported passenger kilometers. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Number of kilometers traveled by passengers by rail.