France vs South Africa: Rail lines

France
27,716 total route-km
in 2021
South Africa
20,953 total route-km
in 2021
France rank
7th
South Africa rank
9th

Rail lines over time

  • France
  • South Africa
010.0k20.0k30.0k199520082021

How they compare

France currently reports 27,716 total route-km against 20,953 total route-km in South Africa, a difference of 6,763 total route-km.

That makes France's figure about 1.3 times South Africa's.

Across all 7 years both countries report, France has been ahead every year.

France ranks 7th and South Africa ranks 9th of 104 countries.

France has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade France South Africa Difference Ahead
2010s 28,750 total route-km 20,953 total route-km 7,797 total route-km France
2020s 27,794 total route-km 20,953 total route-km 6,841 total route-km France

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher rail lines, France or South Africa?
France, at 27,716 total route-km against 20,953 total route-km in South Africa as of 2021.
What is the difference in rail lines between France and South Africa?
6,763 total route-km, with France ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and South Africa?
7 years are reported by both, from 2015 to 2021.
How do France and South Africa rank globally for rail lines?
France ranks 7th and South Africa ranks 9th of 104 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Rail lines (total route-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

France vs South Africa: Rail lines. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/rail-lines-total-route-km/france/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/rail-lines-total-route-km/france/south-africa/">France vs South Africa: Rail lines</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Rail lines (total route-km)
Unit
total route-km
Source
Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
104 places, 2,110 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed

The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.