India vs Japan: Number of airline passengers per year

India

180.42 million

in 2023

Japan

120.31 million

in 2023

India rank

4th

Japan rank

6th

Number of airline passengers per year over time

India currently reports 180.42 million against 120.31 million in Japan, a difference of 60.11 million.

That makes India's figure about 1.5 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 54 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Japan ahead.

India ranks 4th and Japan ranks 6th 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.