Tonne-kilometers of air freight in United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 13.57 billion million ton-km in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
13.57 billion million ton-km
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
4th
of 180 countries
All-time high
16.62 billion million ton-km
in 2017
All-time low
2.20 million million ton-km
in 1974
Years of data
50
1974–2023

Tonne-kilometers of air freight in United Arab Emirates, 1974–2023

05.0B10.0B15.0B197419982023

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

Analysis

United Arab Emirates recorded 13.57 billion million ton-km for tonne-kilometers of air freight in 2023.

That represents a change of up 4.4% on the previous year and down 3.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in United Arab Emirates peaked at 16.62 billion million ton-km in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.20 million million ton-km, in 1974.

United Arab Emirates ranks 4th 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 7.47 million million ton-km 2.20 million million ton-km 14.00 million million ton-km 6
1980s 48.70 million million ton-km 21.40 million million ton-km 117.80 million million ton-km 10
1990s 547.74 million million ton-km 145.10 million million ton-km 1.13 billion million ton-km 10
2000s 4.68 billion million ton-km 1.46 billion million ton-km 9.29 billion million ton-km 10
2010s 14.13 billion million ton-km 9.77 billion million ton-km 16.62 billion million ton-km 10
2020s 13.51 billion million ton-km 12.17 billion million ton-km 15.30 billion million ton-km 4

Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates

  1. 1 United States 42.76 billion million ton-km compare
  2. 2 China 26.17 billion million ton-km compare
  3. 3 Qatar 13.93 billion million ton-km compare
  4. 5 Germany 12.77 billion million ton-km compare
  5. 6 South Korea 12.29 billion million ton-km compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for United Arab Emirates

All data for United Arab Emirates →

Frequently asked questions

What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in United Arab Emirates?
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in United Arab Emirates was 13.57 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 United Arab Emirates?
The highest recorded value was 16.62 billion million ton-km in 2017.
What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The lowest recorded value was 2.20 million million ton-km in 1974.
How does United Arab Emirates rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
United Arab Emirates ranks 4th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this United Arab Emirates 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 — 50 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.