Passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia

Malaysia: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 929.34 million million passenger-km in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
929.34 million million passenger-km
Change on year
down 57.8%
World rank
50th
of 101 countries
All-time high
2.50 billion million passenger-km
in 2011
All-time low
929.34 million million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
26
1995–2020

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia, 1995–2020

0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B2.5B1995200720201995: 1.3B million passenger-km1996: 1.4B million passenger-km1997: 1.5B million passenger-km1998: 1.4B million passenger-km1999: 1.3B million passenger-km2000: 1.2B million passenger-km2001: 1.2B million passenger-km2002: 2.3B million passenger-km2003: 1.9B million passenger-km2004: 1.9B million passenger-km2005: 2.2B million passenger-km2006: 2.1B million passenger-km2007: 2.2B million passenger-km2008: 2.3B million passenger-km2009: 2.3B million passenger-km2010: 2.4B million passenger-km2011: 2.5B million passenger-km2012: 2.3B million passenger-km2013: 2.4B million passenger-km2014: 2.0B million passenger-km2015: 2.0B million passenger-km2016: 2.3B million passenger-km2017: 2.5B million passenger-km2018: 2.3B million passenger-km2019: 2.2B million passenger-km2020: 929.3M 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

In 2020, passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia stood at 929.34 million million passenger-km. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.

That represents a change of down 57.8% on the previous year and down 61.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia peaked at 2.50 billion million passenger-km in 2011 and was at its lowest, 929.34 million million passenger-km, in 2020.

That places Malaysia 50th out of 101 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.37 billion million passenger-km 1.27 billion million passenger-km 1.49 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 1.96 billion million passenger-km 1.18 billion million passenger-km 2.35 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 2.29 billion million passenger-km 1.96 billion million passenger-km 2.50 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 929.34 million million passenger-km 929.34 million million passenger-km 929.34 million million passenger-km 1

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 47 Cuba 1.28 billion million passenger-km compare
  2. 48 Syria 1.22 billion million passenger-km compare
  3. 49 Bulgaria 1.21 billion 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

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Malaysia was 929.34 million 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 Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 2.50 billion million passenger-km in 2011.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 929.34 million million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Malaysia rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Malaysia ranks 50th out of 101 countries with data for 2020.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 61.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia 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.