Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland

Ireland: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 870.00 million million passenger-km in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
870.00 million million passenger-km
Change on year
up 4.3%
Rank
51st
of 101 regions
All-time high
2.40 billion million passenger-km
in 2019
All-time low
834.00 million million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland, 1995–2021

1.0B1.5B2.0B2.5B1995200820211995: 1.3B million passenger-km1996: 1.3B million passenger-km1997: 1.4B million passenger-km1998: 1.4B million passenger-km1999: 1.5B million passenger-km2000: 1.4B million passenger-km2001: 1.5B million passenger-km2002: 1.6B million passenger-km2003: 1.6B million passenger-km2004: 1.6B million passenger-km2005: 1.8B million passenger-km2006: 1.9B million passenger-km2007: 2.0B million passenger-km2008: 2.0B million passenger-km2009: 1.7B million passenger-km2010: 1.7B million passenger-km2011: 1.6B million passenger-km2012: 1.6B million passenger-km2013: 1.6B million passenger-km2014: 1.9B million passenger-km2015: 1.9B million passenger-km2016: 2.0B million passenger-km2017: 2.1B million passenger-km2018: 2.3B million passenger-km2019: 2.4B million passenger-km2020: 834.0M million passenger-km2021: 870.0M 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

Ireland recorded 870.00 million million passenger-km for passenger-kilometers by rail in 2021.

That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and down 46.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland peaked at 2.40 billion million passenger-km in 2019 and was at its lowest, 834.00 million million passenger-km, in 2020.

That places Ireland 51st out of 101 regions with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.37 billion million passenger-km 1.29 billion million passenger-km 1.46 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 1.70 billion million passenger-km 1.39 billion million passenger-km 2.01 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 1.91 billion million passenger-km 1.58 billion million passenger-km 2.40 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 852.00 million million passenger-km 834.00 million million passenger-km 870.00 million million passenger-km 2

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 48 Syria 1.22 billion million passenger-km compare
  2. 49 Bulgaria 1.21 billion million passenger-km compare
  3. 50 Malaysia 929.34 million million passenger-km compare
  4. 52 New Zealand 802.03 million million passenger-km compare
  5. 53 Chile 738.00 million million passenger-km compare
  6. 54 Greece 653.00 million million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland was 870.00 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 Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 2.40 billion million passenger-km in 2019.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 834.00 million million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Ireland rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Ireland ranks 51st out of 101 regions with data for 2021.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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.