Passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal

Portugal: Passenger-kilometers by rail was 2.91 billion million passenger-km in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
2.91 billion million passenger-km
Change on year
up 14.1%
World rank
40th
of 101 countries
All-time high
4.96 billion million passenger-km
in 2019
All-time low
2.55 billion million passenger-km
in 2020
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal, 1995–2021

01.0B2.0B3.0B4.0B5.0B1995200820211995: 4.9B million passenger-km1996: 4.5B million passenger-km1997: 4.6B million passenger-km1998: 4.6B million passenger-km1999: 4.4B million passenger-km2000: 3.8B million passenger-km2001: 3.9B million passenger-km2002: 3.9B million passenger-km2003: 3.6B million passenger-km2004: 3.6B million passenger-km2005: 3.8B million passenger-km2006: 3.9B million passenger-km2007: 4.0B million passenger-km2008: 4.2B million passenger-km2009: 4.2B million passenger-km2010: 4.1B million passenger-km2011: 4.1B million passenger-km2012: 3.8B million passenger-km2013: 3.6B million passenger-km2014: 3.9B million passenger-km2015: 4.0B million passenger-km2016: 4.1B million passenger-km2017: 4.4B million passenger-km2018: 4.5B million passenger-km2019: 5.0B million passenger-km2020: 2.6B million passenger-km2021: 2.9B 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

In 2021, passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal stood at 2.91 billion million passenger-km.

That represents a change of up 14.1% on the previous year and down 29.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal peaked at 4.96 billion million passenger-km in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.55 billion million passenger-km, in 2020.

Portugal ranks 40th of 101 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 4.58 billion million passenger-km 4.38 billion million passenger-km 4.87 billion million passenger-km 5
2000s 3.89 billion million passenger-km 3.58 billion million passenger-km 4.21 billion million passenger-km 10
2010s 4.15 billion million passenger-km 3.65 billion million passenger-km 4.96 billion million passenger-km 10
2020s 2.73 billion million passenger-km 2.55 billion million passenger-km 2.91 billion million passenger-km 2

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 37 Myanmar 4.16 billion million passenger-km compare
  2. 38 South Africa 3.50 billion million passenger-km compare
  3. 39 Uzbekistan 3.13 billion million passenger-km compare
  4. 41 Finland 2.90 billion million passenger-km compare
  5. 42 Turkmenistan 2.34 billion million passenger-km compare
  6. 43 Slovakia 2.05 billion million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal?
Passenger-kilometers by rail in Portugal was 2.91 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 Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 4.96 billion million passenger-km in 2019.
What is the lowest passenger-kilometers by rail recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 2.55 billion million passenger-km in 2020.
How does Portugal rank for passenger-kilometers by rail?
Portugal ranks 40th out of 101 countries with data for 2021.
Is passenger-kilometers by rail rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Portugal 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.