China vs India: Passenger-kilometers by rail
China
946.50 billion million passenger-km
in 2021
India
231.13 billion million passenger-km
in 2021
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Passenger-kilometers by rail over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 946.50 billion million passenger-km against 231.13 billion million passenger-km in India, a difference of 715.37 billion million passenger-km.
That makes China's figure about 4.1 times India's.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 27 shared years of data; in 1995 it was China ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 101 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and India in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 362.91 billion million passenger-km | 360.43 billion million passenger-km | 2.48 billion million passenger-km | China |
| 2000s | 587.29 billion million passenger-km | 593.15 billion million passenger-km | 5.86 billion million passenger-km | India |
| 2010s | 1.11 trillion million passenger-km | 1.09 trillion million passenger-km | 19.67 billion million passenger-km | China |
| 2020s | 637.38 billion million passenger-km | 640.93 billion million passenger-km | 3.56 billion million passenger-km | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher passenger-kilometers by rail, China or India?
- China, at 946.50 billion million passenger-km against 231.13 billion million passenger-km in India as of 2021.
- What is the difference in passenger-kilometers by rail between China and India?
- 715.37 billion million passenger-km, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.
- How do China and India rank globally for passenger-kilometers by rail?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 101 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Passenger-kilometers by rail. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.