Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada
Canada: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 536.00 million million passenger-km in 2021. ▼ Falling
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada, 1995–2021
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.
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.38 billion million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 1.41 billion million passenger-km | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 1.44 billion million passenger-km | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 1.47 billion million passenger-km | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 1.50 billion million passenger-km | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 1.55 billion million passenger-km | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 1.55 billion million passenger-km | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.60 billion million passenger-km | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 1.43 billion million passenger-km | -10.2% |
| 2004 | 1.41 billion million passenger-km | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 1.48 billion million passenger-km | +4.6% |
| 2006 | 1.45 billion million passenger-km | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 1.45 billion million passenger-km | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 1.57 billion million passenger-km | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 1.41 billion million passenger-km | -10.2% |
| 2010 | 1.40 billion million passenger-km | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 1.40 billion million passenger-km | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.38 billion million passenger-km | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 1.36 billion million passenger-km | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 1.33 billion million passenger-km | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 1.35 billion million passenger-km | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 1.41 billion million passenger-km | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 1.53 billion million passenger-km | +8.9% |
| 2018 | 1.53 billion million passenger-km | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 1.73 billion million passenger-km | +13.1% |
| 2020 | 229.00 million million passenger-km | -86.8% |
| 2021 | 536.00 million million passenger-km | +134.1% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 536.00 million million passenger-km is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.44 billion million passenger-km, 10% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Passenger-kilometers by rail in Canada 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +134.1% | 229.00 million million passenger-km | 536.00 million million passenger-km |
| 2020 | -86.8% | 1.73 billion million passenger-km | 229.00 million million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
- 55 Tunisia 633.33 million million passenger-km compare
- 56 Slovenia 542.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 57 Croatia 540.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 59 Jordan 503.54 million million passenger-km compare
- 60 Tanzania 475.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 61 Mexico 466.00 million million passenger-km compare
More reference data data for Canada
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 22.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 99.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.88 (2050)
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
The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.