China vs India: Number of airline passengers per year

China

619.22 million

in 2023

India

180.42 million

in 2023

China rank

2nd

India rank

4th

Number of airline passengers per year over time

China currently reports 619.22 million against 180.42 million in India, a difference of 438.80 million.

That makes China's figure about 3.4 times India's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 50 shared years of data; in 1974 it was India ahead.

China ranks 2nd and India ranks 4th of 183 countries.

Indicator: Number of airline passengers per year
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: 183 places, 7,925 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

This represents the total rather than unique passenger activity: this means a person who makes multiple trips is counted multiple times.