Passenger-kilometers by rail by country

The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.

Countries reporting
99
Highest
946.50 billion million passenger-km
China
Lowest
68,000 million passenger-km
Eswatini
Median
929.34 million million passenger-km
Years covered
27
1995–2021
Data points
2,125

What the numbers show

Passenger-kilometers by rail is currently reported for 99 countries. The highest value is 946.50 billion million passenger-km in China; the lowest is 68,000 million passenger-km in Eswatini.

The median across all reporting countries is 929.34 million million passenger-km, and the mean is 22.27 billion million passenger-km.

Over the past decade 23 countries rose and 73 fell. The largest increase was in Jordan (up 43,073.8%), and the largest decrease in Albania (down 95.5%).

Passenger-kilometers by rail: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 China 946.50 billion million passenger-km 2021 up 2.7% rising
2 Japan 263.21 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 33.1% flat
3 India 231.13 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 76.4% rising
4 Russia 103.45 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 26.0% falling
5 South Korea 100.38 billion million passenger-km 2019 up 80.9% rising
6 France 86.85 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 17.7% rising
7 Germany 58.82 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 29.9% rising
8 Egypt 40.84 billion million passenger-km 2008 down 37.0% falling
9 Indonesia 29.07 billion million passenger-km 2019 up 47.0% rising
10 Italy 27.69 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 40.9% flat
11 Pakistan 24.90 billion million passenger-km 2018 up 0.7% rising
12 United Kingdom 24.19 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 61.6% rising
13 Spain 17.00 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 25.4% rising
14 Brazil 16.49 billion million passenger-km 2019 up 8.5% rising
15 Poland 15.84 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 12.8% falling
16 Switzerland 14.31 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 26.5% rising
17 United States 12.46 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 60.9% rising
18 Iran 11.23 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 37.2% rising
19 Netherlands 10.90 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 33.9% rising
20 Ukraine 10.70 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 78.7% falling
21 Turkey 10.68 billion million passenger-km 2021 up 50.0% rising
22 Bangladesh 10.04 billion million passenger-km 2016 up 141.1% rising
23 Australia 9.33 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 38.9% rising
24 Kazakhstan 8.65 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 45.3% rising
25 Austria 8.43 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 22.5% rising
26 Argentina 8.36 billion million passenger-km 2017 down 4.1% falling
27 Sweden 8.01 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 29.6% rising
28 Sri Lanka 7.41 billion million passenger-km 2015 up 70.0% rising
29 Belgium 6.97 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 36.7% rising
30 Czechia 6.82 billion million passenger-km 2021 up 1.6% rising
31 Denmark 6.56 billion million passenger-km 2018 up 1.3% rising
32 Thailand 6.02 billion million passenger-km 2017 down 25.1% falling
33 Romania 5.91 billion million passenger-km 2019 down 3.6% falling
34 Hungary 5.44 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 30.4% falling
35 Belarus 4.49 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 43.5% falling
36 Morocco 4.46 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 7.4% rising
37 Myanmar 4.16 billion million passenger-km 2004 down 0.4% rising
38 South Africa 3.50 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 74.7% volatile
39 Uzbekistan 3.13 billion million passenger-km 2021 up 3.5% rising
40 Portugal 2.91 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 29.7% falling
41 Finland 2.90 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 25.2% rising
42 Turkmenistan 2.34 billion million passenger-km 2017 up 49.0% rising
43 Slovakia 2.05 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 15.6% flat
44 Israel 1.96 billion million passenger-km 2021 up 1.5% volatile
45 Norway 1.78 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 42.1% flat
46 Vietnam 1.52 billion million passenger-km 2020 down 65.4% rising
47 Cuba 1.28 billion million passenger-km 2007 down 34.5% falling
48 Syria 1.22 billion million passenger-km 2013 up 132.1% volatile
49 Bulgaria 1.21 billion million passenger-km 2021 down 41.7% falling
50 Malaysia 929.34 million million passenger-km 2020 down 61.5% rising
52 New Zealand 802.03 million million passenger-km 2020 rising
53 Chile 738.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 13.3% rising
54 Greece 653.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 31.8% falling
55 Tunisia 633.33 million million passenger-km 2021 down 43.1% falling
56 Slovenia 542.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 29.9% falling
57 Croatia 540.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 63.7% falling
58 Canada 536.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 61.8% falling
59 Jordan 503.54 million million passenger-km 2010 up 43,073.8% volatile
60 Tanzania 475.00 million million passenger-km 2006 down 18.9% falling
61 Mexico 466.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 47.7% volatile
62 Philippines 384.00 million million passenger-km 2016 up 362.7% volatile
63 Latvia 360.80 million million passenger-km 2021 down 51.3% falling
64 Algeria 348.00 million million passenger-km 2020 down 66.7% falling
65 Lithuania 329.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 15.4% falling
67 Estonia 290.00 million million passenger-km 2021 up 20.3% rising
68 Georgia 273.27 million million passenger-km 2021 down 57.4% rising
69 Congo 266.47 million million passenger-km 2012 up 250.6% flat
70 Mozambique 246.80 million million passenger-km 2011 up 73.8% falling
71 Cameroon 225.37 million million passenger-km 2020 down 51.4% falling
72 Mali 196.30 million million passenger-km 2002 down 22.8% falling
73 Serbia 191.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 64.7% volatile
74 Nigeria 173.63 million million passenger-km 2005 down 63.8% falling
75 Djibouti 145.00 million million passenger-km 2005 down 3.3% falling
76 Saudi Arabia 134.65 million million passenger-km 2018 down 60.0% falling
77 Senegal 129.00 million million passenger-km 2006 up 25.2% rising
78 Kenya 109.24 million million passenger-km 2007 down 72.2% falling
79 Azerbaijan 104.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 84.2% falling
80 Iraq 99.68 million million passenger-km 2010 down 73.7% volatile
81 Botswana 94.00 million million passenger-km 2006 down 1.9% rising
82 Mongolia 91.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 93.5% falling
83 Gabon 87.00 million million passenger-km 2020 down 21.6% rising
84 Ghana 85.00 million million passenger-km 2006 down 59.7% falling
85 Sudan 81.50 million million passenger-km 2014 up 154.7% volatile
86 Benin 66.00 million million passenger-km 2003 down 44.1% falling
87 Armenia 55.00 million million passenger-km 2017 up 129.2% falling
88 Cambodia 45.00 million million passenger-km 2005 up 16.6% flat
89 Montenegro 27.80 million million passenger-km 2020 down 69.3% falling
90 North Macedonia 25.35 million million passenger-km 2021 down 82.5% falling
91 Moldova 23.30 million million passenger-km 2021 down 93.6% volatile
92 Tajikistan 21.70 million million passenger-km 2020 down 33.8% volatile
93 Kyrgyzstan 21.00 million million passenger-km 2021 down 74.6% falling
94 Bosnia and Herzegovina 15.00 million million passenger-km 2020 down 74.6% rising
95 Cote d'Ivoire 10.00 million million passenger-km 2003 down 93.8% falling
95 Madagascar 10.00 million million passenger-km 2007 down 79.6% volatile
97 Uruguay 8.00 million million passenger-km 2015 down 33.3% falling
98 Democratic Republic of Congo 7.25 million million passenger-km 2021 down 70.6% volatile
99 Zambia 4.18 million million passenger-km 2018 volatile
100 Albania 812,000 million passenger-km 2021 down 95.5% volatile
101 Eswatini 68,000 million passenger-km 2011 volatile

About this data

Indicator
Passenger-kilometers by rail
Unit
million passenger-km
Source
International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
101 places, 2,125 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed

The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.