Archive:Enlargement countries - transport statistics

Data extracted in May 2021.

Planned article update: April 2022.

Highlights

In 2019, Montenegro had the highest motorisation rate among candidate countries and potential candidates, with 350 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to 540 in the EU.

In 2019, the number of persons killed per inhabitants was the highest in Albania among the candidate countries and potential candidates, with 7.9 persons per 100 000 inhabitants, compared to 5.1 in the EU.

Turkey reported by far the highest volumes of freight transport by road, rail, sea and air among the candidate countries or potential candidates.

Motorisation rate, 2009 and 2019

Country codes: ME = Montenegro; RS = Serbia; MK = North Macedonia; AL = Albania; TR = Turkey; BA = Bosnia and Herzegovina; XK = Kosovo*
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
Countries are ranked based on 2019 data.
EU: Rounded estimates based on the closest reference period available for each EU Member State.
Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: Data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authority.
Serbia and Kosovo: Break in series.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2009 excludes Brcko District.
Source: Eurostat (online data codes: road_eqs_carhab, tran_r_vehst and demo_gind) and Eurostat data collection.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of transport statistics for the European Union (EU) candidate countries and potential candidates, in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo* are potential candidates.

The article provides information in relation to a range of transport statistics, including the density of the road transport network; road and rail passenger transport; and an analysis of freight transport.

Full article

Road network

Table 1 measures the density of the road transport network in relation to total land area, an indicator that is comparable between territories. In 2019, Montenegro and North Macedonia recorded the highest road density (all roads, including motorways) among the candidate countries and potential candidates, with 666 m and 582 m of road per square kilometre (km²) of land area respectively. Serbia had a road network density of 505 m per km² in 2017, the latest period for which data are available. In Turkey, the road network density was 321 m per square kilometre (km²), but using a more restrictive definition of roads. In Kosovo and Albania were spread more thinly across each territory, 214 and 136 m per km² respectively. 2019 data are not available for Bosnia and Herzegovina, however in 2009 road network density was 344 m per km². For comparison, there was a much higher density of roads in the EU, estimated to be 867 m per km² in 2019.

Table 1: Density of road transport network, 2009, 2014 and 2019
(m per km² of land area)
Source: Eurostat (road_if_motorwa), (road_if_roadsc) and (reg_area3) and from annual data collection cycle – see Data Sources

The motorisation rate is measured as the number of passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants. As shown in Figure 1, in the candidate countries and potential candidates in 2019, there were 350 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in Montenegro; 299 per 1 000 inhabitants in Serbia; and 269 per 1 000 inhabitants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The motorisation rate in North Macedonia was 205 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants. The lowest motorisation rates among the candidate countries and potential candidates were found in Albania, Kosovo and Turkey, respectively 175, 162 and 150 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants.

Figure 1: Motorisation rate, 2009 and 2019
(number of passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (road_eqs_carhab), (tran_r_vehst) and (demo_gind) and from annual data collection cycle – see Data Sources

During the 10-year period 2009-2019, there was faster growth in the motorisation rate in all of the candidate countries and potential candidates than in the EU. The candidate countries and potential candidates with the lowest motorisation rates in 2019 — Turkey, Kosovo and Albania —recorded the fastest expansion in car ownership between 2009 and 2019. Kosovo had the highest annual average rate of change at 7.7 %, (note that there was a break in the series). In Albania and Turkey, the annual average growth rates were 6.2 % and 4.3 % respectively. In both North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the annual average motorisation growth rate 2009-2019 was 4.1 %. In Serbia, the annual average growth rate was 2.9 % and in Montenegro the rate increased by an annual average of 1.9 %.

In the EU in 2019, there were an estimated 540 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants. This marked an annual average increase of 1.4 % in car ownership over the period 2009-2019, or 70 additional cars per 1 000 inhabitants over the whole period.

Figure 2 illustrates the numbers of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants for 2009 and 2019. No data is available for Kosovo. In all the candidate countries and potential candidates for which data is available for both years, there has been a considerable decline in the rate of road fatalities.

Figure 2: Persons killed in road accidents, 2009 and 2019
(number per 100 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_roadse) and (demo_gind) and from annual data collection cycle – see Data Sources

Albania in 2019 had the highest number among the candidate countries and potential candidates of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants at 7.9 but this figure was 38 % lower than in 2009, when it was 12.9. The next highest observations in 2019 were in Serbia and Montenegro, both at 7.6 road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants; and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 7.5. Serbia’s fatality rate declined by 31 % from 2009, when it was 11.0. Montenegro’s rate had been 16.2 persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants in 2009; the decline was 53 %. There was no data for Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2009. Turkey’s road accident fatality rate was 6.7 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2018; there was no data for 2009 and 2019. North Macedonia’s rate in 2019 was 6.4, a decline of 19 % from the rate of 7.8 observed in 2009. In the EU, the number of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants for 2009 and 2019 were 7.5 and 5.1 respectively, meaning that there was a decline of 32 % over the decade.

Road and rail passenger transport

Table 2 shows road and rail passenger transport measured in million passenger-kilometres. The road passenger data for Montenegro shows only passengers on board motor coaches and buses and thus does not measure the use of private cars or passengers in taxis, which are included in the data for other candidate countries and potential candidates.

Turkey’s road passenger transport was estimated at 339 601 million passenger-kilometres in 2019, an annual average growth of 4.8 % from the 2009 figure of 212 464. Rail in 2019 accounted for 11 068 million passenger-kilometres in 2019. Rail passenger transport grew by 7.5 % annually on average from 2009, when rail passengers had been transported 5 374 million passenger-kilometres.

North Macedonia saw a major increase in road transport over the period 2009 to 2019, from 1 213 to 9 697 million passenger-kilometres, an annual change rate of 23.1 %. Rail passenger transport fell by an annual rate of 9.7 % from 2010 to 2019, from 155 to 62 million passenger-kilometres.

Table 2: Road and rail passenger transport, 2009, 2014 and 2019
(million passenger-kilometres)
Source: Eurostat (road_if_motorwa), (road_pa_mov), (rail_pa_total) and from annual data collection cycle – see Data Sources

Serbia’s road passenger traffic grew by 0.3 % a year on average from 2009 to 2017, from 4 169 to 4 255 million passenger-kilometres. Rail passenger traffic decreased by 6.1 % annually from 2014 to 2019, from 384 to 281 million passenger-kilometres.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most recent road data date from 2016. In that year, 1 706 million passenger-kilometres were travelled by road, down from 1 959 in 2009, an annual average decline of 2.0 %. Rail passenger traffic increased from 35 to 56 million passenger-kilometres over the period 2014-2019.

In Montenegro, passengers on board motor coaches and buses accounted for 114 million passenger-kilometres in 2019, up from 102 in 2009, an annual increase of 1.1 %. Rail passenger transport declined from 76 to 66 million passenger-kilometres over the period 2014 to 2019.

There is no data for road passenger transport in Albania or for road or rail in Kosovo. In Albania, rail passenger transport declined from 32 to 2 million passenger-kilometres over 2009 to 2019.

There is no aggregate EU data available for road transport. Rail transport accounted for 415 744 million passenger-Km in 2019, up from 346 565 in 2007, an annual increase of 1.5 %.

Freight transport

Table 3 shows transport of freight measured in tonne-kilometres for road and rail, but in tonnes for sea and air. The weight of goods transported by rail is the gross-gross weight. This includes the total weight of the goods, all packaging, and the tare weight of the container, swap-body and pallets containing goods; in the case of rail freight transport, it also includes road goods vehicles that are carried by rail. By contrast, the weight measured for air, maritime and road freight transport is the gross weight, excluding the tare weight.

Table 3: Freight transport, 2009 and 2019
Source: Eurostat (road_go_ta_tott), (rail_go_total), (mar_mg_aa_cwh) and (avia_gooc) and from annual data collection cycle – see Data Sources

In Turkey, road freight transport in 2019 accounted for 267 579 million tonne-kilometres, almost unchanged from a decade before, when it had been 266 502 million tonne-kilometres. Rail freight transported 14 707 million tonne-kilometres in 2019, an average annual increase of 3.8 % from 2009, when it was 10 163 million tonne-kilometres. Freight loaded and unloaded in maritime Turkish ports accounted for 478 116 thousand tonnes in 2019, up from 293 906 thousand tonnes in 2009, an average annual increase of 5.0 %. Air freight grew even faster 2009-2019, from 431 577 tonnes loaded and unloaded to 1 473 000, an average annual growth of 13.1 %.

In North Macedonia, 10 266 million tonne-kilometres of freight were hauled by road, a slight decline on the 10 637 million tonne-kilometres registered a decade earlier. Rail freight accounted for 350 million tonne-kilometres in 2019, down from 497 million tonne-kilometres in 2009, an annual rate of decline of -3.4 %. 3 407 tonnes of air freight were loaded and unloaded in 2019; there is no data for 2009.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, road freight transport was also stable over 2009-2019, at 4 324 million tonne-kilometres in 2009 and 4 377 million tonne-kilometres in 2019. Rail freight transport moved 1 275 million tonne-kilometres in 2019. No data is available for 2009 either for rail or for air freight transport. Air freight loaded and unloaded in 2019 accounted for 2 640 tonnes.

Serbian road freight transport grew by 3.6 % a year from 904 million tonne-kilometres in 2009 to 1 282 million tonne-kilometres ten years later. Rail freight data is only available for 2019, when 523 million tonne-kilometres was transported. For air freight, data is also only available for 2019, when 22 659 tonnes of freight were loaded and unloaded.

In Montenegro, road freight statistics cover only vehicles registered domestically. On this basis, road freight grew from 78 million tonne-kilometres to 81 million tonne-kilometres over 2009-2019. For the remaining transport modes, only 2019 data is available. Rail freight moved 130 million tonne-kilometres in that year. 2 035 thousand tonnes of maritime freight were loaded and unloaded in 2019, as were 872 tonnes of air freight.

No road freight transport data is available for Albania. Rail freight transport declined marginally from 46 million tonne-kilometres in 2009 to 43 million tonne-kilometres in 2019. Maritime freight increased marginally from 4 200 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2009 to 4 455 thousand tonnes in 2019. Air freight similarly grew marginally, from 2 300 tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2009 to 2 372 tonnes in 2019.

Kosovo data is available only for rail: in 2009, 46 million tonne-kilometres were hauled, falling to 23 million tonne-kilometres in 2019, an annual decline of 6.7 %.

In the EU, road freight haulage increased from 1 609 429 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 1 763 651 in 2018, an average annual increase of 1.2 %. Rail freight grew very slightly faster over 2009-2019 at an average annual rate of 1.5 %: 344 369 million tonne-kilometres were moved in 2009 and 398 621 ten years later. Maritime freight increased from 2 965 925 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2009 to 3 587 258 thousand tonnes in 2019, an average annual increase of 1.9 %. Air freight grew faster at an average annual rate of 3.7 % over 2009-2019. The figure at the start of this period was 9 505 727 tonnes loaded and unloaded and 13 653 093 tonnes at the end.

Source data for tables and graphs

Enlargement countries — transport: tables and figures

Data sources

Data for the candidate countries and potential candidates are collected for a wide range of indicators each year through a questionnaire that is sent by Eurostat to candidate countries or potential candidates. A network of contacts has been established for updating these questionnaires, generally within the national statistical offices, but potentially including representatives of other data-producing organisations (for example, central banks or government ministries). The statistics shown in this article are made available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a wide range of other socio-economic indicators collected as part of this initiative.

For the EU, the development of passenger and freight transport statistics is based upon a raft of framework legislation and implementing legislation, generally organised according to the mode of transport under consideration.

Transport statistics are available with an annual frequency and a time series generally beginning in the early 1990s. The majority are based on movements in each reporting country, regardless of the nationality of the vehicle or vessel involved (the ‘territoriality principle’).

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics	data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
:	not available;
–	not applicable.

Context

The European Union’s mobility and transport objectives are set out in the European Commission Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport’s Strategic Plan 2020-2024:

1: A sustainable transport area that reduces transport impact on the environment, provides healthier and cleaner alternatives to mobility and increases the uptake of sustainable alternative transport fuels for land, waterborne and air both in the EU and globally.

2: A smart and innovative transport sector that makes the most of digitalisation and automation, supported by adequate funding.

3.1: A fully integrated and connected Trans-European Transport network with appropriate funding for a robust and modern European transport infrastructure with fully restored connectivity.

3.2: An efficient and accessible internal market for transport that drives economic recovery and is governed by clear rules that are applied and enforced consistently.

4: A European Union that acts united in cooperation with key partners and neighbours to improve connectivity links, open-up new market opportunities and promote high safety and security standards.

5: High levels of transport safety and security are ensured and new security and safety challenges are addressed.

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the candidate countries and potential candidates are expected to increase progressively the volume and quality of their data and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU enlargement process. EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that statistical production of the candidate countries and potential candidates complie with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, and participation in meetings within the European Statistical System (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards.

Additional information on statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided here.

Notes

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.