Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada

Canada: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 536.00 million million passenger-km in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
536.00 million million passenger-km
Change on year
up 134.1%
World rank
58th
of 101 countries
All-time high
1.73 billion million passenger-km
in 2019
All-time low
229.00 million million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada, 1995–2021

0500.0M1.0B1.5B1995200820211995: 1.4B million passenger-km1996: 1.4B million passenger-km1997: 1.4B million passenger-km1998: 1.5B million passenger-km1999: 1.5B million passenger-km2000: 1.5B million passenger-km2001: 1.6B million passenger-km2002: 1.6B million passenger-km2003: 1.4B million passenger-km2004: 1.4B million passenger-km2005: 1.5B million passenger-km2006: 1.4B million passenger-km2007: 1.5B million passenger-km2008: 1.6B million passenger-km2009: 1.4B million passenger-km2010: 1.4B million passenger-km2011: 1.4B million passenger-km2012: 1.4B million passenger-km2013: 1.4B million passenger-km2014: 1.3B million passenger-km2015: 1.3B million passenger-km2016: 1.4B million passenger-km2017: 1.5B million passenger-km2018: 1.5B million passenger-km2019: 1.7B million passenger-km2020: 229.0M million passenger-km2021: 536.0M million passenger-km

Source: International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million passenger-km.

Analysis

In 2021, passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada stood at 536.00 million million passenger-km.

The figure is up 134.1% on the previous year and down 61.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada peaked at 1.73 billion million passenger-km in 2019 and was at its lowest, 229.00 million million passenger-km, in 2020.

That places Canada 58th out of 101 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.44 billion million passenger-km 1.38 billion million passenger-km 1.50 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 1.49 billion million passenger-km 1.41 billion million passenger-km 1.60 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 1.44 billion million passenger-km 1.33 billion million passenger-km 1.73 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 382.50 million million passenger-km 229.00 million million passenger-km 536.00 million million passenger-km 2

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 55 Tunisia 633.33 million million passenger-km compare
  2. 56 Slovenia 542.00 million million passenger-km compare
  3. 57 Croatia 540.00 million million passenger-km compare
  4. 59 Jordan 503.54 million million passenger-km compare
  5. 60 Tanzania 475.00 million million passenger-km compare
  6. 61 Mexico 466.00 million million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada was 536.00 million million passenger-km in 2021, according to International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 1.73 billion million passenger-km in 2019.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 229.00 million million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Canada rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Canada ranks 58th out of 101 countries with data for 2021.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 61.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from International Union of Railways (UIC) and OECD, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Passenger-kilometers by rail. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.