Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in North America
North America: Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) was 536 million passenger-km in 2021. ▲ Rising
Railways, passengers carried in North America, 1995–2021
Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in million passenger-km.
Analysis
In 2021, railways, passengers carried in North America stood at 536 million passenger-km. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 91.6% on the previous year and down 96.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, railways, passengers carried in North America peaked at 18,860 million passenger-km in 2014 and was at its lowest, 536 million passenger-km, in 2021.
North America ranks 22nd of 27 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in North America, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 11,731 million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 11,638 million passenger-km | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 12,093 million passenger-km | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 12,480 million passenger-km | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 12,704 million passenger-km | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 13,763 million passenger-km | +8.3% |
| 2001 | 13,376 million passenger-km | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 13,003 million passenger-km | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 13,238 million passenger-km | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 13,095 million passenger-km | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 13,436 million passenger-km | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 14,373 million passenger-km | +7.0% |
| 2007 | 15,906 million passenger-km | +10.7% |
| 2008 | 16,859 million passenger-km | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 16,160 million passenger-km | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 16,638 million passenger-km | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 16,992 million passenger-km | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 17,751 million passenger-km | +4.5% |
| 2013 | 18,706 million passenger-km | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 18,860 million passenger-km | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 18,696 million passenger-km | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 18,650 million passenger-km | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 17,395 million passenger-km | -6.7% |
| 2018 | 16,746 million passenger-km | -3.7% |
| 2019 | 17,107 million passenger-km | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 6,344 million passenger-km | -62.9% |
| 2021 | 536 million passenger-km | -91.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in North America changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -91.6% | 6,344 million passenger-km | 536 million passenger-km |
| 2020 | -62.9% | 17,107 million passenger-km | 6,344 million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12,129 million passenger-km | 11,638 million passenger-km | 12,704 million passenger-km | 5 |
| 2000s | 14,321 million passenger-km | 13,003 million passenger-km | 16,859 million passenger-km | 10 |
| 2010s | 17,754 million passenger-km | 16,638 million passenger-km | 18,860 million passenger-km | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,440 million passenger-km | 536 million passenger-km | 6,344 million passenger-km | 2 |
Countries ranked near North America
- 19 Netherlands 10,900 million passenger-km compare
- 20 Ukraine 10,696 million passenger-km compare
- 21 Turkey 10,683 million passenger-km compare
- 22 Bangladesh 10,040 million passenger-km compare
- 23 Australia 9,328 million passenger-km compare
- 24 Kazakhstan 8,649 million passenger-km compare
- 25 Austria 8,433 million passenger-km compare
More infrastructure data for North America
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 434.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 112 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 89.00 million (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 23 per 100 people (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.2321 units per person (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -4.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 89.00 million (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.13 units per person (2025)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is railways, passengers carried in North America?
- Railways, passengers carried in North America was 536 million passenger-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC).
- What is the highest railways, passengers carried recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 18,860 million passenger-km in 2014.
- What is the lowest railways, passengers carried recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 536 million passenger-km in 2021.
- How does North America rank for railways, passengers carried?
- North America ranks 22nd out of 27 groups with data for 2021.
- Is railways, passengers carried rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 96.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Passengers carried by railway are the number of passengers transported by rail multiplied by kilometers traveled.