Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany

Germany: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 12.77 billion million ton-km in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
12.77 billion million ton-km
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
5th
of 180 countries
All-time high
12.86 billion million ton-km
in 2022
All-time low
484.50 million million ton-km
in 1970
Years of data
54
1970–2023

Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany, 1970–2023

02.5B5.0B7.5B10.0B12.5B197019962023

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million ton-km.

Analysis

In 2023, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany stood at 12.77 billion million ton-km.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 74.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany peaked at 12.86 billion million ton-km in 2022 and was at its lowest, 484.50 million million ton-km, in 1970.

Germany ranks 5th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 946.55 million million ton-km 484.50 million million ton-km 1.51 billion million ton-km 10
1980s 2.45 billion million ton-km 1.50 billion million ton-km 3.84 billion million ton-km 10
1990s 5.33 billion million ton-km 3.99 billion million ton-km 6.61 billion million ton-km 10
2000s 7.96 billion million ton-km 7.03 billion million ton-km 10.19 billion million ton-km 10
2010s 7.45 billion million ton-km 6.94 billion million ton-km 7.97 billion million ton-km 10
2020s 11.58 billion million ton-km 9.17 billion million ton-km 12.86 billion million ton-km 4

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 2 China 26.17 billion million ton-km compare
  2. 3 Qatar 13.93 billion million ton-km compare
  3. 4 United Arab Emirates 13.57 billion million ton-km compare
  4. 6 South Korea 12.29 billion million ton-km compare
  5. 7 Hong Kong 8.64 billion million ton-km compare
  6. 8 Japan 8.47 billion million ton-km compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany?
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Germany was 12.77 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 12.86 billion million ton-km in 2022.
What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 484.50 million million ton-km in 1970.
How does Germany rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
Germany ranks 5th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 74.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Germany 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

Indicator
Tonne-kilometers of air freight
Unit
million ton-km
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
180 places, 7,506 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

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.