Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in United States
United States: Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) was 12,460 million passenger-km in 2020. ▲ Rising
Railways, passengers carried in United States, 1995–2020
Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in million passenger-km.
Analysis
United States recorded 12,460 million passenger-km for railways, passengers carried in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 61.6% on the previous year and down 60.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, railways, passengers carried in United States peaked at 36,393 million passenger-km in 2014 and was at its lowest, 12,460 million passenger-km, in 2020.
United States ranks 17th of 101 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in United States, year by year
| Year | million passenger-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22,079 million passenger-km | — |
| 1996 | 21,866 million passenger-km | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 22,746 million passenger-km | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 23,490 million passenger-km | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 23,911 million passenger-km | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 25,977 million passenger-km | +8.6% |
| 2001 | 25,198 million passenger-km | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 24,410 million passenger-km | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 25,044 million passenger-km | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 24,777 million passenger-km | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 25,394 million passenger-km | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 27,296 million passenger-km | +7.5% |
| 2007 | 30,358 million passenger-km | +11.2% |
| 2008 | 32,143 million passenger-km | +5.9% |
| 2009 | 30,907 million passenger-km | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 31,872 million passenger-km | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 32,580 million passenger-km | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 34,126 million passenger-km | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 36,047 million passenger-km | +5.6% |
| 2014 | 36,393 million passenger-km | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 36,044 million passenger-km | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 35,892 million passenger-km | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 33,256 million passenger-km | -7.3% |
| 2018 | 31,963 million passenger-km | -3.9% |
| 2019 | 32,483 million passenger-km | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 12,460 million passenger-km | -61.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 12,460 million passenger-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 5,435 million passenger-km, 2.3× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -61.6% | 32,483 million passenger-km | 12,460 million passenger-km |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22,818 million passenger-km | 21,866 million passenger-km | 23,911 million passenger-km | 5 |
| 2000s | 27,150 million passenger-km | 24,410 million passenger-km | 32,143 million passenger-km | 10 |
| 2010s | 34,066 million passenger-km | 31,872 million passenger-km | 36,393 million passenger-km | 10 |
| 2020s | 12,460 million passenger-km | 12,460 million passenger-km | 12,460 million passenger-km | 1 |
Countries ranked near United States
More infrastructure data for United States
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 390.99 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 113.19 per 100 people (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 81.55 million (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 23.61 per 100 people (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.2398 units per person (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 81.55 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.15 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is railways, passengers carried in United States?
- Railways, passengers carried in United States was 12,460 million passenger-km in 2020, according to Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC).
- What is the highest railways, passengers carried recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 36,393 million passenger-km in 2014.
- What is the lowest railways, passengers carried recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 12,460 million passenger-km in 2020.
- How does United States rank for railways, passengers carried?
- United States ranks 17th out of 101 countries with data for 2020.
- Is railways, passengers carried rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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 — 26 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.