Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia
Australia: Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road was 8.18 billion passenger-kilometers in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
8.18 billion passenger-kilometers
Change on year
down 7.5%
World rank
25th
of 63 countries
All-time high
17.81 billion passenger-kilometers
in 2019
All-time low
8.15 billion passenger-kilometers
in 1979
Years of data
53
1970–2022
Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia, 1970–2022
Source: OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in passenger-kilometers.
Analysis
In 2022, relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia stood at 8.18 billion passenger-kilometers.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.5% on the previous year and down 45.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia peaked at 17.81 billion passenger-kilometers in 2019 and was at its lowest, 8.15 billion passenger-kilometers, in 1979.
That places Australia 25th out of 63 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia, year by year
| Year | passenger-kilometers | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.47 billion passenger-kilometers | — |
| 1971 | 12.68 billion passenger-kilometers | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 11.62 billion passenger-kilometers | -8.4% |
| 1973 | 11.47 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 10.52 billion passenger-kilometers | -8.3% |
| 1975 | 9.95 billion passenger-kilometers | -5.4% |
| 1976 | 8.89 billion passenger-kilometers | -10.7% |
| 1977 | 8.59 billion passenger-kilometers | -3.4% |
| 1978 | 8.31 billion passenger-kilometers | -3.2% |
| 1979 | 8.15 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.9% |
| 1980 | 8.45 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.7% |
| 1981 | 8.69 billion passenger-kilometers | +2.8% |
| 1982 | 8.66 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 8.52 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 8.47 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 8.46 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 9.01 billion passenger-kilometers | +6.6% |
| 1987 | 9.41 billion passenger-kilometers | +4.4% |
| 1988 | 9.83 billion passenger-kilometers | +4.5% |
| 1989 | 10.15 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 10.00 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 9.97 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 9.79 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 9.48 billion passenger-kilometers | -3.1% |
| 1994 | 9.76 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 10.13 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 10.44 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 10.72 billion passenger-kilometers | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 10.72 billion passenger-kilometers | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 10.92 billion passenger-kilometers | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 11.29 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 11.88 billion passenger-kilometers | +5.2% |
| 2002 | 11.71 billion passenger-kilometers | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 11.71 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 11.79 billion passenger-kilometers | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 11.77 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 12.29 billion passenger-kilometers | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 12.88 billion passenger-kilometers | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 13.90 billion passenger-kilometers | +7.9% |
| 2009 | 14.61 billion passenger-kilometers | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 14.54 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 14.77 billion passenger-kilometers | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 15.05 billion passenger-kilometers | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 15.03 billion passenger-kilometers | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 15.05 billion passenger-kilometers | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 15.45 billion passenger-kilometers | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 16.00 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 16.53 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.3% |
| 2018 | 17.16 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 17.81 billion passenger-kilometers | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 14.17 billion passenger-kilometers | -20.5% |
| 2021 | 8.85 billion passenger-kilometers | -37.6% |
| 2022 | 8.18 billion passenger-kilometers | -7.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.26 billion passenger-kilometers | 8.15 billion passenger-kilometers | 12.68 billion passenger-kilometers | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.96 billion passenger-kilometers | 8.45 billion passenger-kilometers | 10.15 billion passenger-kilometers | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.19 billion passenger-kilometers | 9.48 billion passenger-kilometers | 10.92 billion passenger-kilometers | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.38 billion passenger-kilometers | 11.29 billion passenger-kilometers | 14.61 billion passenger-kilometers | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.74 billion passenger-kilometers | 14.54 billion passenger-kilometers | 17.81 billion passenger-kilometers | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.40 billion passenger-kilometers | 8.18 billion passenger-kilometers | 14.17 billion passenger-kilometers | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 22 Thailand 9.06 billion passenger-kilometers compare
- 23 Kazakhstan 8.65 billion passenger-kilometers compare
- 24 Argentina 8.36 billion passenger-kilometers compare
- 26 Hungary 7.82 billion passenger-kilometers compare
- 27 Denmark 6.56 billion passenger-kilometers compare
- 28 Romania 5.91 billion passenger-kilometers compare
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia?
- Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Australia was 8.18 billion passenger-kilometers in 2022, according to OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 17.81 billion passenger-kilometers in 2019.
- What is the lowest relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.15 billion passenger-kilometers in 1979.
- How does Australia rank for relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road?
- Australia ranks 25th out of 63 countries with data for 2022.
- Is relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of kilometers traveled by passengers by rail.