Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium
Belgium: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 1.83 billion million ton-km in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium, 1970–2023
Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million ton-km.
Analysis
The most recent figure for tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium is 1.83 billion million ton-km, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.5% on the previous year and up 17.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium peaked at 1.83 billion million ton-km in 2023 and was at its lowest, 184.00 million million ton-km, in 1970.
Belgium ranks 19th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium, year by year
| Year | million ton-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 184.00 million million ton-km | — |
| 1971 | 202.40 million million ton-km | +10.0% |
| 1972 | 224.50 million million ton-km | +10.9% |
| 1973 | 238.60 million million ton-km | +6.3% |
| 1974 | 286.10 million million ton-km | +19.9% |
| 1975 | 281.20 million million ton-km | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 316.70 million million ton-km | +12.6% |
| 1977 | 338.90 million million ton-km | +7.0% |
| 1978 | 375.80 million million ton-km | +10.9% |
| 1979 | 395.20 million million ton-km | +5.2% |
| 1980 | 394.50 million million ton-km | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 441.50 million million ton-km | +11.9% |
| 1982 | 479.10 million million ton-km | +8.5% |
| 1983 | 489.10 million million ton-km | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 525.40 million million ton-km | +7.4% |
| 1985 | 565.00 million million ton-km | +7.5% |
| 1986 | 574.80 million million ton-km | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 535.50 million million ton-km | -6.8% |
| 1988 | 650.50 million million ton-km | +21.5% |
| 1989 | 660.70 million million ton-km | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 656.40 million million ton-km | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 485.80 million million ton-km | -26.0% |
| 1992 | 386.30 million million ton-km | -20.5% |
| 1993 | 478.20 million million ton-km | +23.8% |
| 1994 | 515.20 million million ton-km | +7.7% |
| 1995 | 594.60 million million ton-km | +15.4% |
| 1996 | 590.90 million million ton-km | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 677.60 million million ton-km | +14.7% |
| 1998 | 473.00 million million ton-km | -30.2% |
| 1999 | 535.40 million million ton-km | +13.2% |
| 2000 | 1.02 billion million ton-km | +90.0% |
| 2001 | 852.78 million million ton-km | -16.2% |
| 2002 | 655.42 million million ton-km | -23.1% |
| 2003 | 604.61 million million ton-km | -7.8% |
| 2004 | 712.95 million million ton-km | +17.9% |
| 2005 | 705.13 million million ton-km | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 740.39 million million ton-km | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 755.19 million million ton-km | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 981.68 million million ton-km | +30.0% |
| 2009 | 1.43 billion million ton-km | +45.4% |
| 2010 | 1.07 billion million ton-km | -25.2% |
| 2011 | 1.24 billion million ton-km | +16.3% |
| 2012 | 1.37 billion million ton-km | +10.4% |
| 2013 | 1.56 billion million ton-km | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 1.60 billion million ton-km | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 1.48 billion million ton-km | -7.3% |
| 2016 | 1.51 billion million ton-km | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.57 billion million ton-km | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 1.29 billion million ton-km | -18.4% |
| 2019 | 1.35 billion million ton-km | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 1.27 billion million ton-km | -6.5% |
| 2021 | 1.83 billion million ton-km | +44.5% |
| 2022 | 1.69 billion million ton-km | -7.7% |
| 2023 | 1.83 billion million ton-km | +8.5% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 1.83 billion million ton-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 266.33 million million ton-km, 6.9× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 1.83 billion million ton-km is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 62.72 million million ton-km, 29.2× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +90.0% | 535.40 million million ton-km | 1.02 billion million ton-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 284.34 million million ton-km | 184.00 million million ton-km | 395.20 million million ton-km | 10 |
| 1980s | 531.61 million million ton-km | 394.50 million million ton-km | 660.70 million million ton-km | 10 |
| 1990s | 539.34 million million ton-km | 386.30 million million ton-km | 677.60 million million ton-km | 10 |
| 2000s | 845.31 million million ton-km | 604.61 million million ton-km | 1.43 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.40 billion million ton-km | 1.07 billion million ton-km | 1.60 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.65 billion million ton-km | 1.27 billion million ton-km | 1.83 billion million ton-km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More reference data data for Belgium
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9298 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7526 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium?
- Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Belgium was 1.83 billion million ton-km in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 1.83 billion million ton-km in 2023.
- What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 184.00 million million ton-km in 1970.
- How does Belgium rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
- Belgium ranks 19th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Tonne-kilometers of air freight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tonnes times kilometers traveled.