What is the difference in railways, passengers carried between China and India?

715,373 million passenger-km, with China ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?

27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs India: Railways, passengers carried

China

946,499 million passenger-km

in 2021

India

231,126 million passenger-km

in 2021

China rank

1st

India rank

3rd

Railways, passengers carried over time

China
India

How they compare

China currently reports 946,499 million passenger-km against 231,126 million passenger-km in India, a difference of 715,373 million passenger-km.

That makes China's figure about 4.1 times India's.

The two have swapped places 10 times across 27 shared years of data; in 1995 it was China ahead.

China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 101 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and India in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	India	Difference	Ahead
1990s	362,908 million passenger-km	360,432 million passenger-km	2,476 million passenger-km	China
2000s	587,292 million passenger-km	593,152 million passenger-km	5,860 million passenger-km	India
2010s	1.11 million million passenger-km	1.09 million million passenger-km	19,670 million passenger-km	China
2020s	637,375 million passenger-km	640,933 million passenger-km	3,558 million passenger-km	India

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher railways, passengers carried, China or India?: China, at 946,499 million passenger-km against 231,126 million passenger-km in India as of 2021.
What is the difference in railways, passengers carried between China and India?: 715,373 million passenger-km, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?: 27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.
How do China and India rank globally for railways, passengers carried?: China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 101 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs India: Railways, passengers carried. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/railways-passengers-carried-million-passenger-km/china/india/

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About this data

Indicator: Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)
Unit: million passenger-km
Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 128 places, 2,650 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Passengers carried by railway are the number of passengers transported by rail multiplied by kilometers traveled.