Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany

Germany: Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road was 57.53 billion passenger-kilometers in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
57.53 billion passenger-kilometers
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
7th
of 63 countries
All-time high
102.03 billion passenger-kilometers
in 2019
All-time low
37.17 billion passenger-kilometers
in 1976
Years of data
52
1970–2021

Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany, 1970–2021

025.0B50.0B75.0B100.0B197019952021

Source: OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in passenger-kilometers.

Analysis

Germany recorded 57.53 billion passenger-kilometers for relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in 2021.

The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany peaked at 102.03 billion passenger-kilometers in 2019 and was at its lowest, 37.17 billion passenger-kilometers, in 1976.

That places Germany 7th out of 63 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.

Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany, 1970 to 2021.
Year passenger-kilometers Change
1970 38.48 billion passenger-kilometers
1971 39.52 billion passenger-kilometers +2.7%
1972 40.53 billion passenger-kilometers +2.5%
1973 40.76 billion passenger-kilometers +0.6%
1974 41.65 billion passenger-kilometers +2.2%
1975 38.59 billion passenger-kilometers -7.3%
1976 37.17 billion passenger-kilometers -3.7%
1977 37.35 billion passenger-kilometers +0.5%
1978 37.59 billion passenger-kilometers +0.6%
1979 39.43 billion passenger-kilometers +4.9%
1980 40.50 billion passenger-kilometers +2.7%
1981 41.80 billion passenger-kilometers +3.2%
1982 40.03 billion passenger-kilometers -4.2%
1983 38.76 billion passenger-kilometers -3.2%
1984 39.08 billion passenger-kilometers +0.8%
1985 42.71 billion passenger-kilometers +9.3%
1986 41.40 billion passenger-kilometers -3.1%
1987 39.20 billion passenger-kilometers -5.3%
1988 41.00 billion passenger-kilometers +4.6%
1989 41.10 billion passenger-kilometers +0.2%
1990 43.60 billion passenger-kilometers +6.1%
1991 55.30 billion passenger-kilometers +26.8%
1992 56.30 billion passenger-kilometers +1.8%
1993 63.36 billion passenger-kilometers +12.5%
1994 65.17 billion passenger-kilometers +2.9%
1995 70.98 billion passenger-kilometers +8.9%
1996 71.73 billion passenger-kilometers +1.1%
1997 72.40 billion passenger-kilometers +0.9%
1998 72.67 billion passenger-kilometers +0.4%
1999 73.80 billion passenger-kilometers +1.6%
2000 75.40 billion passenger-kilometers +2.2%
2001 75.75 billion passenger-kilometers +0.5%
2002 71.37 billion passenger-kilometers -5.8%
2003 71.29 billion passenger-kilometers -0.1%
2004 72.88 billion passenger-kilometers +2.2%
2005 76.82 billion passenger-kilometers +5.4%
2006 79.00 billion passenger-kilometers +2.8%
2007 79.11 billion passenger-kilometers +0.1%
2008 82.54 billion passenger-kilometers +4.3%
2009 82.25 billion passenger-kilometers -0.3%
2010 83.89 billion passenger-kilometers +2.0%
2011 85.41 billion passenger-kilometers +1.8%
2012 88.80 billion passenger-kilometers +4.0%
2013 89.61 billion passenger-kilometers +0.9%
2014 90.98 billion passenger-kilometers +1.5%
2015 91.60 billion passenger-kilometers +0.7%
2016 94.20 billion passenger-kilometers +2.8%
2017 95.53 billion passenger-kilometers +1.4%
2018 98.17 billion passenger-kilometers +2.8%
2019 102.03 billion passenger-kilometers +3.9%
2020 58.82 billion passenger-kilometers -42.3%
2021 57.53 billion passenger-kilometers -2.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 39.11 billion passenger-kilometers 37.17 billion passenger-kilometers 41.65 billion passenger-kilometers 10
1980s 40.56 billion passenger-kilometers 38.76 billion passenger-kilometers 42.71 billion passenger-kilometers 10
1990s 64.53 billion passenger-kilometers 43.60 billion passenger-kilometers 73.80 billion passenger-kilometers 10
2000s 76.64 billion passenger-kilometers 71.29 billion passenger-kilometers 82.54 billion passenger-kilometers 10
2010s 92.02 billion passenger-kilometers 83.89 billion passenger-kilometers 102.03 billion passenger-kilometers 10
2020s 58.18 billion passenger-kilometers 57.53 billion passenger-kilometers 58.82 billion passenger-kilometers 2

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 4 France 117.85 billion passenger-kilometers compare
  2. 5 South Korea 100.38 billion passenger-kilometers compare
  3. 6 Russia 78.57 billion passenger-kilometers compare
  4. 8 United Kingdom 51.15 billion passenger-kilometers compare
  5. 9 Italy 46.50 billion passenger-kilometers compare
  6. 10 Poland 23.83 billion passenger-kilometers compare

See the full ranking of 63 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany?
Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany was 57.53 billion passenger-kilometers in 2021, 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 102.03 billion passenger-kilometers in 2019.
What is the lowest relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 37.17 billion passenger-kilometers in 1976.
How does Germany rank for relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road?
Germany ranks 7th out of 63 countries with data for 2021.
Is relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany 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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Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/relative-share-of-passenger-kilometers-travelled-by-rail-and-road/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Relative share of passenger kilometers travelled by rail and road
Unit
passenger-kilometers
Source
OECD (2023); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
63 places, 2,649 data points, 1970–2022
Last refreshed

Number of kilometers traveled by passengers by rail.