Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany

Germany: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 58.82 billion million passenger-km in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
58.82 billion million passenger-km
Change on year
down 42.3%
World rank
7th
of 101 countries
All-time high
102.03 billion million passenger-km
in 2019
All-time low
58.82 billion million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
26
1995–2020

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany, 1995–2020

025.0B50.0B75.0B100.0B1995200720201995: 71.0B million passenger-km1996: 71.7B million passenger-km1997: 72.4B million passenger-km1998: 72.7B million passenger-km1999: 73.8B million passenger-km2000: 75.4B million passenger-km2001: 75.8B million passenger-km2002: 71.4B million passenger-km2003: 71.3B million passenger-km2004: 72.9B million passenger-km2005: 76.8B million passenger-km2006: 79.0B million passenger-km2007: 79.1B million passenger-km2008: 82.5B million passenger-km2009: 82.3B million passenger-km2010: 83.9B million passenger-km2011: 85.4B million passenger-km2012: 88.8B million passenger-km2013: 89.6B million passenger-km2014: 91.0B million passenger-km2015: 91.6B million passenger-km2016: 94.2B million passenger-km2017: 95.5B million passenger-km2018: 98.2B million passenger-km2019: 102.0B million passenger-km2020: 58.8B 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

Germany recorded 58.82 billion million passenger-km for passenger-kilometers by rail in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 42.3% on the previous year and down 29.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany peaked at 102.03 billion million passenger-km in 2019 and was at its lowest, 58.82 billion million passenger-km, in 2020.

Germany ranks 7th of 101 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 72.31 billion million passenger-km 70.98 billion million passenger-km 73.80 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 76.64 billion million passenger-km 71.29 billion million passenger-km 82.54 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 92.02 billion million passenger-km 83.89 billion million passenger-km 102.03 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 58.82 billion million passenger-km 58.82 billion million passenger-km 58.82 billion million passenger-km 1

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 4 Russia 103.45 billion million passenger-km compare
  2. 5 South Korea 100.38 billion million passenger-km compare
  3. 6 France 86.85 billion million passenger-km compare
  4. 8 Egypt 40.84 billion million passenger-km compare
  5. 9 Indonesia 29.07 billion million passenger-km compare
  6. 10 Italy 27.69 billion million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany was 58.82 billion million passenger-km in 2020, 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 102.03 billion million passenger-km in 2019.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 58.82 billion million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Germany rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Germany ranks 7th out of 101 countries with data for 2020.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany 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 — 26 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.