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

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.

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.