Which has higher number of airline passengers per year, China or United States?

United States, at 941.56 million against 619.22 million in China as of 2023.

What is the difference in number of airline passengers per year between China and United States?

322.34 million, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?

50 years are reported by both, from 1974 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of airline passengers per year. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs United States: Number of airline passengers per year

China

619.22 million

in 2023

United States

941.56 million

in 2023

China rank

2nd

United States rank

1st

Number of airline passengers per year over time

China
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 941.56 million against 619.22 million in China, a difference of 322.34 million.

That makes United States's figure about 1.5 times China's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 50 shared years of data; in 1974 it was United States ahead.

China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 183 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	United States	Difference	Ahead
1970s	1.32 million	243.72 million	242.40 million	United States
1980s	7.65 million	365.90 million	358.25 million	United States
1990s	39.31 million	528.61 million	489.30 million	United States
2000s	132.25 million	672.46 million	540.22 million	United States
2010s	436.70 million	798.13 million	361.42 million	United States
2020s	431.88 million	707.51 million	275.63 million	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of airline passengers per year, China or United States?: United States, at 941.56 million against 619.22 million in China as of 2023.
What is the difference in number of airline passengers per year between China and United States?: 322.34 million, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?: 50 years are reported by both, from 1974 to 2023.
How do China and United States rank globally for number of airline passengers per year?: China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 183 countries.
Where does this data come from?: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of airline passengers per year. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs United States: Number of airline passengers per year. Statizoid, drawing on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/number-airline-passengers/china/united-states/

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About this data

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: 18 September 2026

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