Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland
Ireland: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 870.00 million million passenger-km in 2021. ▲ Rising
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland, 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
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 countries 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.
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.29 billion million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 1.29 billion million passenger-km | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 1.39 billion million passenger-km | +7.1% |
| 1998 | 1.42 billion million passenger-km | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 1.46 billion million passenger-km | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 1.39 billion million passenger-km | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 1.51 billion million passenger-km | +9.1% |
| 2002 | 1.63 billion million passenger-km | +7.5% |
| 2003 | 1.60 billion million passenger-km | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 1.58 billion million passenger-km | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 1.78 billion million passenger-km | +12.6% |
| 2006 | 1.87 billion million passenger-km | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 2.01 billion million passenger-km | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 1.98 billion million passenger-km | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 1.68 billion million passenger-km | -14.8% |
| 2010 | 1.68 billion million passenger-km | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 1.64 billion million passenger-km | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 1.58 billion million passenger-km | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 1.59 billion million passenger-km | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 1.86 billion million passenger-km | +17.0% |
| 2015 | 1.92 billion million passenger-km | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 1.99 billion million passenger-km | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 2.12 billion million passenger-km | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 2.28 billion million passenger-km | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 2.40 billion million passenger-km | +5.2% |
| 2020 | 834.00 million million passenger-km | -65.2% |
| 2021 | 870.00 million million passenger-km | +4.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 870.00 million million passenger-km is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.44 billion million passenger-km, 16% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 870.00 million million passenger-km is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.62 billion million passenger-km, 33% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Passenger-kilometers by rail in Ireland 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 | -65.2% | 2.40 billion million passenger-km | 834.00 million million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
- 48 Syria 1.22 billion million passenger-km compare
- 49 Bulgaria 1.21 billion million passenger-km compare
- 50 Malaysia 929.34 million million passenger-km compare
- 52 New Zealand 802.03 million million passenger-km compare
- 53 Chile 738.00 million million passenger-km compare
- 54 Greece 653.00 million million passenger-km compare
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
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 countries 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
The number of passengers transported by rail, multiplied by the kilometers traveled. This is measured in passenger-kilometers.