Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany
Germany: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 58.82 billion million passenger-km in 2020. ▲ Rising
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany, 1995–2020
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.
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 70.98 billion million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 71.73 billion million passenger-km | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 72.40 billion million passenger-km | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 72.67 billion million passenger-km | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 73.80 billion million passenger-km | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 75.40 billion million passenger-km | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 75.75 billion million passenger-km | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 71.37 billion million passenger-km | -5.8% |
| 2003 | 71.29 billion million passenger-km | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 72.88 billion million passenger-km | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 76.82 billion million passenger-km | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 79.00 billion million passenger-km | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 79.11 billion million passenger-km | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 82.54 billion million passenger-km | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 82.25 billion million passenger-km | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 83.89 billion million passenger-km | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 85.41 billion million passenger-km | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 88.80 billion million passenger-km | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 89.61 billion million passenger-km | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 90.98 billion million passenger-km | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 91.60 billion million passenger-km | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 94.20 billion million passenger-km | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 95.53 billion million passenger-km | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 98.17 billion million passenger-km | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 102.03 billion million passenger-km | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 58.82 billion million passenger-km | -42.3% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 58.82 billion million passenger-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.44 billion million passenger-km, 10.8× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Germany's 58.82 billion million passenger-km is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.62 billion million passenger-km, 22.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Passenger-kilometers by rail in Germany 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -42.3% | 102.03 billion million passenger-km | 58.82 billion million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
- 4 Russia 103.45 billion million passenger-km compare
- 5 South Korea 100.38 billion million passenger-km compare
- 6 France 86.85 billion million passenger-km compare
- 8 Egypt 40.84 billion million passenger-km compare
- 9 Indonesia 29.07 billion million passenger-km compare
- 10 Italy 27.69 billion million passenger-km compare
More reference data data for Germany
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 15.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 80.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 10.56 (2050)
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
The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.