Passenger-kilometers by rail in Netherlands

Netherlands: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 10.90 billion million passenger-km in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
10.90 billion million passenger-km
Change on year
up 18.5%
World rank
19th
of 101 countries
All-time high
22.60 billion million passenger-km
in 2018
All-time low
9.20 billion million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Netherlands, 1995–2021

05.0B10.0B15.0B20.0B25.0B1995200820211995: 13.0B million passenger-km1996: 13.1B million passenger-km1997: 14.2B million passenger-km1998: 14.9B million passenger-km1999: 15.0B million passenger-km2000: 15.4B million passenger-km2001: 15.5B million passenger-km2002: 15.5B million passenger-km2003: 14.5B million passenger-km2004: 14.1B million passenger-km2005: 14.7B million passenger-km2006: 15.9B million passenger-km2007: 15.5B million passenger-km2008: 15.3B million passenger-km2009: 15.4B million passenger-km2010: 14.6B million passenger-km2011: 16.5B million passenger-km2012: 16.1B million passenger-km2013: 17.7B million passenger-km2014: 16.2B million passenger-km2015: 15.8B million passenger-km2016: 16.9B million passenger-km2017: 17.8B million passenger-km2018: 22.6B million passenger-km2019: 19.4B million passenger-km2020: 9.2B million passenger-km2021: 10.9B 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

Netherlands recorded 10.90 billion million passenger-km for passenger-kilometers by rail in 2021.

That represents a change of up 18.5% on the previous year and down 33.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Netherlands peaked at 22.60 billion million passenger-km in 2018 and was at its lowest, 9.20 billion million passenger-km, in 2020.

That places Netherlands 19th out of 101 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 14.04 billion million passenger-km 13.00 billion million passenger-km 15.00 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 15.19 billion million passenger-km 14.08 billion million passenger-km 15.89 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 17.36 billion million passenger-km 14.60 billion million passenger-km 22.60 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 10.05 billion million passenger-km 9.20 billion million passenger-km 10.90 billion million passenger-km 2

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 16 Switzerland 14.31 billion million passenger-km compare
  2. 17 United States 12.46 billion million passenger-km compare
  3. 18 Iran 11.23 billion million passenger-km compare
  4. 20 Ukraine 10.70 billion million passenger-km compare
  5. 21 Turkey 10.68 billion million passenger-km compare
  6. 22 Bangladesh 10.04 billion million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Netherlands?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Netherlands was 10.90 billion 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 Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 22.60 billion million passenger-km in 2018.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 9.20 billion million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Netherlands rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Netherlands ranks 19th out of 101 countries with data for 2021.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Netherlands?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Netherlands 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.