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Archive:The EU in the world - transport

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Data extracted in March 2016. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: June 2018.

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on Eurostat’s publication The EU in the world 2016.

The article focuses on transport statistics in the European Union (EU) and in the 15 non-EU members of the Group of Twenty (G20). It provides information on freight and passenger transport, as well as on the stock of passenger cars and gives an insight of the EU’s transport sector in comparison with the major economies in the rest of the world, such as its counterparts in the so-called Triad — Japan and the United States — and the BRICS composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Figure 1: Rail passenger transport, 2005 and 2014
(passenger-km per inhabitant)
Source: Eurostat (rail_pa_total) and (demo_gind) , the World Bank Transportation, Water, and Information and Communications Technologies Department, Transport Division, and United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision
Figure 2: Rail freight transport, 2005 and 2014
(tonne-km per inhabitant)
Source: Eurostat (rail_go_typeall) and (demo_gind), the World Bank Transportation, Water, and Information and Communications Technologies Department, Transport Division, and United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision
Table 1: Maritime fleet 2005 and 2014 and largest ports in 2014
Source: Eurostat (mar_mg_aa_pwhd), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Maritime transport indicators), the American Association of Port Authorities (World port rankings and port authority data)
Figure 3: Containers handled in ports, 2008 and 2014
(TEU — twenty-foot equivalent unit)
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Maritime transport indicators)
Figure 4: Vehicles in use relative to population, 2005 and 2014
(number per 1 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (demo_gind), the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision
Figure 5: Road freight transport, 2006 and 2014
(tonne-km per inhabitant)
Source: Eurostat (road_go_ta_tott) and (demo_gind), OECD (International transport forum) and United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision
Figure 6: Number of air passengers carried, 2005 and 2014
(per 1 000 inhabitants)
Source: World Bank (World Development Indicators)
Table 2: Largest airports for passengers, 2014
Source: Eurostat (avia_paoa), Airports Council International (ACI), International Civil Aviation Organization, national civil aviation authorities and information from websites of individual airports

Main statistical findings

Rail transport

Concerning the use of rail transport (see Figures 1 and 2), the G20 members can be split into several groups depending on the extent to which this mode is used for passenger and/or freight transport. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico and to a lesser extent Argentina generally had a relatively low use of rail transport. In the United States, Canada and Australia, rail transport was focused mainly on freight transport, while passenger transport was dominant in Japan, India, the EU-28 and South Korea. A relatively high use of rail transport for both freight and passengers was observed in Russia and at a much lower degree in China.

Comparing 2005 with 2014, a particularly large percentage increase in passenger rail services was recorded in India and China. Estimates for the EU-28 show a 3 % increase in rail passenger transport per inhabitant. On the other hand, there was a significant reduction in Canada (– 54 %), South Korea (– 31 %) and to a lesser degree in Indonesia, Turkey and Russia.

Rail freight transport increased strongly in Russia between 2005 and 2014

Relative to the size of the population, rail freight transport in 2014 was smaller than it had been in 2005 in five G20 members, notably in the United States where it decreased by 18 %; estimates for the EU-28 show a 13 % fall in rail freight transport per inhabitant. By contrast, rail freight transport increased by 36 % in Indonesia, by 34 % in India and by 27 % in Mexico. In Russia the percentage growth of rail freight transport per inhabitant was 18 % from 2005 to 2014, which corresponded to the highest absolute increase: 2 448 tonnes-km (tkm) per inhabitant.

Maritime transport

The world’s maritime fleet (see Table 1) increased from 907 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) in 2005 to 1.69 billion DWT in 2014, equivalent to average growth of 7.2 % per year. Deadweight tonnage is the weight measure of a vessel’s carrying capacity and includes cargo, fuel and stores. Between 2005 and 2014 the maritime fleets of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Australia, Russia and Argentina contracted, while the other G20 members recorded an expansion, notably in Indonesia and China, as well as at a lower rhythm in South Korea and the EU-28. The EU-28’s maritime fleet grew by 4.0 % per year during this 9-year period and remained the largest among the G20 members in 2014 with 18.5 % of the world total. It should be noted that there are several smaller countries outside of the G20 that accounted for a large share of the world maritime fleet in 2014, notably Panama (21.1 %), Liberia (12.1 %) and the Marshall Islands (9.0 %) — all associated with flags of convenience.

In 2014, the world’s largest freight port in terms of the quantity of goods handled was Shanghai in China, while the largest in the EU-28 was Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Goods handled covers goods loaded and unloaded, in other words goods placed on a merchant ship for transport by sea or goods taken off a merchant ship.

More than a quarter of the goods loaded and unloaded worldwide in 2014 were handled in China

China plays a leading role in international maritime freight transport and this can be seen in Figure 3. Over a quarter (26.5 %) of the goods (in twenty-foot equivalent units — TEU) transported by sea worldwide in 2014 were handled in Chinese ports. Along with the EU-28 (15.5 %) and the United States (6.8 %) the three top ranking G20 members covered almost half of the containers handled in maritime ports worldwide. From 2008 to 2014 the share of the EU-28 fell by 2.0 percentage points (pp), while China experienced the highest growth in its world share (+ 4.0 pp). All together the G20 members were responsible for around two thirds of the containers handled in the world.

Road transport

More than 600 vehicles for every 1 000 inhabitants in the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan

Among the G20 members, reliance on transport vehicles was highest in 2014 in the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan, all of which had more than 600 vehicles for every 1 000 inhabitants; the EU-28 was close behind with 574 vehicles per 1 000 inhabitants and the lowest ratios were recorded in India and Indonesia, with respectively 22 and 83 vehicles for every 1 000 inhabitants. Vehicles include all registered vehicles, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles on the road (excluding motor cycles). A general upward trend was observed in all G20 members between 2005 and 2014, notably in China where the number of vehicle per 1000 inhabitants more than quadrupled, as well as in Indonesia and India where the ratio more doubled. The number of vehicles per 1 000 inhabitants also increased by more than 50 % in Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Turkey (see Figure 4).

Relative to the size of its population, the quantity in tonne-kilometres of road freight transport was particularly high in the United States (2012 data), Australia and Canada (2013 data). A tonne-kilometre (tkm or tonne-km) is a unit of measure of freight transport which represents the transport of one tonne of goods (including packaging and tare weights of intermodal transport units) by a given transport mode over a distance of one kilometre. The very high figure in the United States, Australia and Canada reflects not only an extensive use of road freight transport as a mode of freight transport, but also the large distances involved in transporting goods around a large land area. Comparing 2006 with 2012 (data for 2014 not available), the most notable development was the increase in the amount of Chinese road freight: this figure increased almost six-fold (see Figure 5), equivalent to an annual average growth of about 25.0 %. India also reported strong growth, with road freight (relative to population size) increasing by more than 50% between 2006 and 2013. Canada and the EU-28 were the only G20 members (for which data are available) reporting a fall for this indicator.

Air transport

Worldwide, the number of air passengers carried in 2014 was around 3.2 billion, an increase of 63.1 % compared with 2005. In the EU-28, air passenger numbers in 2014 reached 608.5 million, an increase of 34.1 % compared with 2005, and equivalent to 18.9 % of the world total. The United States had 762.6 million passengers (23.7 % of the world total) and China had 352.8 million (12.2 %).

Between 2005 and 2014, the number of passengers relative to population size more than tripled in Turkey and Indonesia

Relative to the size of the population, the number of air passengers in 2014 was highest among the G20 members in Australia, ahead of the United States and Canada, all with more than twice as many passengers carried than the overall size of their populations (see Figure 6). The number of passengers carried was also over the size of the population in the EU-28, Turkey, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. By contrast, India recorded by far the lowest number of air passengers relative to its population size (64 per 1 000 inhabitants). Between 2005 and 2014, the number of passengers relative to population size grew (in percentage terms) most strongly in Turkey (almost 380 % more in 2014 than in 2005) and Indonesia where it more than tripled, while it grew less than 50 % in Argentina, the EU-28, Australia, South Africa and Japan. The United States was the only G-20 member that reported a drop (– 1.9 %) in the number of air passengers carried per 1 000 inhabitants.

In terms of passenger numbers, the busiest airport in the world was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, in the United States

In terms of passenger numbers, the busiest airport in the world in 2014 was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta in the United States, with 96.2 million passengers, followed by Beijing Capital airport in China with 86.1 million and London Heathrow in the United Kingdom with 73.4 million, making Heathrow the busiest passenger airport in the EU-28 (see Table 2).

Data sources and availability

The statistical data in this article were extracted during March 2016.

The indicators are often compiled according to international — sometimes global — standards. Although most data are based on international concepts and definitions there may be certain discrepancies in the methods used to compile the data.

Data concerning ports have been extracted from the World Bank and the World port rankings of the American Association of Port Authorities.

Data concerning airports have been compiled from the World Bank, and the world annual traffic report of the Airports council international (ACI) supplemented by information available from individual airports, regional or national civil aviation authorities.

Data concerning the number of passenger cars has been extracted from the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

EU data

Most of the indicators presented for the EU have been drawn from Eurobase, Eurostat’s online database. Eurobase is updated regularly, so there may be differences between data appearing in this article and data that is subsequently downloaded.

G20 members from the rest of the world

For the 15 non-EU G20 members, most of the data presented have been extracted from a range of international sources, namely the OECD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank. For some of the indicators shown a range of international statistical sources are available, each with their own policies and practices concerning data management (for example, concerning data validation, correction of errors, estimation of missing data, and frequency of updating). In general, attempts have been made to use only one source for each indicator in order to provide a comparable analysis between the members.

Context

An efficient and well-functioning passenger and freight transport system is often viewed as being vital for business and individuals. Some of the key issues related to transport are its environmental impact, efficiency and safety. This article presents transport statistics on the quantity of freight and number of passengers that are moved, as well as providing some information on the maritime fleet, the stock of passenger cars, and the largest ports and airports. The level of transport, in particular international transport, can be related to a wide variety of issues, including trade liberalisation, globalisation, higher motorisation rates, and tourism.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Road transport (t_road)
Motorisation rate (tsdpc340)

Database

Railway transport (rail)
Railway transport measurement - passengers (rail_pa)
Railway transport - Total annual passenger transport (1 000 pass., million pkm) (rail_pa_total)
Railway transport measurement - Goods (detailed data based on Directive 80/1177/EC or Regulation (EC) 91/2003) (rail_go)
Railway transport - Goods transported, by type of transport (1 000 t, million tkm) (rail_go_typeall)
Road transport (road)
Road freight transport measurement (road_go)
Total road freight transport (road_go_tot)
Summary of annual road freight transport by type of operation and type of transport (1 000 t, Mio Tkm, Mio Veh-km) (road_go_ta_tott)
Maritime transport (mar)
Maritime transport - main annual results (mar_m)
Top 20 ports - Gross weight of goods handled in each port, by direction (mar_mg_aa_pwhd)
Maritime transport - goods (mar_go)
Maritime transport - Goods (gross weight) - Annual data - All ports - by direction (mar_go_aa)
Air transport (avia)
Air transport measurement - passengers (avia_pa)
Overview of the air passenger transport by country and airports (avia_pao)
Air passenger transport by reporting country (avia_paoc)
Air passenger transport by main airports in each reporting country (avia_paoa)
Population change – Demographic balance and crude rates at national level (demo_gind)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Excel.jpg Transport: tables and figures

External links

  • American association of port authorities
  • United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  • World Bank
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