China (People’s Republic of) vs Japan: Railways, passengers carried

China (People’s Republic of)
946,499 million passenger-km
in 2021
Japan
263,211 million passenger-km
in 2020
China (People’s Republic of) rank
1st
Japan rank
2nd

Railways, passengers carried over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • Japan
250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M1.5M199520082021

How they compare

China (People’s Republic of) currently reports 946,499 million passenger-km against 263,211 million passenger-km in Japan, a difference of 683,288 million passenger-km.

That makes China (People’s Republic of)'s figure about 3.6 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 26 shared years of data; in 1995 it was Japan ahead.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 1st and Japan ranks 2nd of 101 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, China (People’s Republic of) averaged higher in 3 and Japan in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) Japan Difference Ahead
1990s 362,908 million passenger-km 394,307 million passenger-km 31,399 million passenger-km Japan
2000s 587,292 million passenger-km 391,312 million passenger-km 195,980 million passenger-km China (People’s Republic of)
2010s 1.11 million million passenger-km 419,461 million passenger-km 689,245 million passenger-km China (People’s Republic of)
2020s 328,251 million passenger-km 263,211 million passenger-km 65,040 million passenger-km China (People’s Republic of)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher railways, passengers carried, China (People’s Republic of) or Japan?
China (People’s Republic of), at 946,499 million passenger-km against 263,211 million passenger-km in Japan as of 2021.
What is the difference in railways, passengers carried between China (People’s Republic of) and Japan?
683,288 million passenger-km, with China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and Japan?
26 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2020.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and Japan rank globally for railways, passengers carried?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 1st and Japan ranks 2nd 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 (People’s Republic of) vs Japan: Railways, passengers carried. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/railways-passengers-carried-million-passenger-km/china/japan/

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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

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