Archive:Enlargement countries - transport statistics

Data extracted in April 2022.

Planned article update: May 2023.

Highlights

Montenegro had the highest motorisation rate among candidate countries and potential candidates, with 350 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in 2019, compared to 541 in the EU.

In 2020, the number of persons killed in road accidents per inhabitants was the highest in Montenegro among the candidate countries and potential candidates, with 7.7 persons per 100 000 inhabitants, compared to 5.1 for the EU in 2019.

Motorisation rate, 2010 and 2020

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 2020 data.
EU: Rounded estimates based on the closest reference period available for each EU Member State. 2019 data instead of 2020.
Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: Data supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authority.
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2019 data instead of 2020.
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) enlargement countries, in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as 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 accidents; road and rail passenger transport; and an analysis of freight transport.

Full article

Road network

Table 1 presents the density of the road transport network in relation to total land area, an indicator that is comparable between territories. Montenegro and North Macedonia recorded the highest road density (all roads, including motorways) among the candidate countries and potential candidates, with 701 m of road per square kilometre (km²) of land area in 2020 and 569 m per km² (2019 data), respectively. Serbia had a road network density of 558 m per km² in 2017, the latest period for which data are available. In Turkey, the road network density was 317 m per km² in 2019. In Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, roads were spread more thinly across each territory, at 206 m, 174 m and 127 m per km² in 2020, respectively. For comparison, there was a much higher density of roads in the EU, estimated to be 849 m per km² in 2019 (no 2020 data available), taking into account that data from Germany and Greece are not included.

Table 1: Density of road transport network, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(m per km² of land area)
Source: Eurostat (road_if_motorwa), (road_if_roadsc) and (reg_area3) and Eurostat data collection

The motorisation rate is measured as the number of passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants. As shown in Figure 1, the highest motorisation rates amongst the candidate countries and potential candidates were observed in Montenegro, at 350 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in 2019, in Serbia, at 313 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2020 and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 269 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2019. The motorisation rate in North Macedonia was 205 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in 2019. In 2020, the lowest motorisation rates among the candidate countries and potential candidates were found in Turkey, Kosovo and Albania, with 150 (2019 data), 164 and 191 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants, respectively. In 2019, the motorisation rate in the EU stood at 541 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants.

Figure 1: Motorisation rate, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(number of passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (road_eqs_carhab), (tran_r_vehst) and (demo_gind) and Eurostat data collection

Since 2010, 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 - Turkey, Kosovo and Albania - recorded the fastest expansion in car ownership since 2010. Albania had the highest annual average growth rate of change at 6.6 % between 2010 and 2020. In Kosovo and Turkey, the annual average growth rates were 6.1 % between 2010 and 2020 and 4.4 % between 2010 and 2019, respectively. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the annual average motorisation growth rate was 4.0 % between 2010 and 2019; in Serbia, 3.8 % between 2010 and 2020; and in North Macedonia and Montenegro the rate increased by an annual average of 3.5 % and 3.1 %, respectively, between 2010 and 2019. In the EU, there were an estimated 541 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in 2019. This marked an annual average increase of 1.3 % in car ownership over the period 2010-2019, or 61 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 2010, 2019 and 2020. No data is available for Kosovo. In almost all the candidate countries and potential candidates for which data is available for 2010 and 2020, there has been a considerable decline in the rate of road fatalities; the only exception being Turkey, where the rate of road fatalities increased, but this may be due to a change in definition, which is explained in the next paragraph.

Figure 2: Persons killed in road accidents, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(number per 100 000 inhabitants)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_roadse) and (demo_gind) and Eurostat data collection

Montenegro had the highest number of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants among the candidate countries and potential candidates at 7.7 in 2020 but this figure was 50 % lower than in 2010, when it was 15.3. The next highest observation was in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 7.5 road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants (2019 data, no data available for 2010), followed by Serbia, at 7.1 road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants in 2020. Serbia’s fatality rate declined by 21 % from 2010, when it was 9.0. Albania’s road accident fatality rate was 6.4 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2020; a decrease by 47 % compared to 2010 when it was 12.1. North Macedonia’s rate in 2020 was 6.0, a decline of 24 % from the rate of 7.9 observed in 2010. Turkey had the lowest number of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants among the candidate countries and potential candidates at 5.9 in 2020. This rate is higher than it was in 2010 (5.6), but it has to be noted that the 2010 data includes only persons killed at the scene of an accident while in 2020 data includes the deaths within 30 days after the traffic accidents due to related accident and its impacts for people injured and sent to health facilities. In the EU, the number of persons killed in road accidents per 100 000 inhabitants in 2010 and 2019 (no more recent data available) were 6.7 and 5.1, respectively, meaning that there was a decline of 24 % over the period.

Road and rail passenger transport

Table 2 shows road and rail passenger transport measured in million passenger-kilometres, performed on the national territory by any passenger road or rail vehicle (regardless of their place of registration). 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 4.6 % from the 2010 figure of 226 913. North Macedonia saw a major increase in road transport over the period 2010 to 2019, from 1 440 million to 9 697 million passenger-kilometres, an annual change rate of 23.6 %. Serbia’s road passenger traffic grew by 0.8 % a year on average over the period 2010-2017 (more recent data is not available), from 4 027 to 4 255 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 1 864 million in 2010, an annual average decline of 1.5 %. In Montenegro, passengers on board of motor coaches and buses accounted for 110 million passenger-kilometres in 2019, up from 81 million in 2010, an annual increase of 3.4 %. Montenegro was the only country for which 2020 data are available, with 30 million passenger-kilometres, down 73.0 % compared to 2019. There is no data available for road passenger transport in Albania nor in Kosovo. There is no EU aggregate available for road passenger transport.

Table 2: Road and rail passenger transport, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(million passenger-kilometres)
Source: Eurostat (road_if_motorwa), (road_pa_mov), (rail_pa_total) and Eurostat data collection

In 2020, rail passenger transport has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions put in place worldwide. All candidate countries and potential candidates for which data is available showed a substantial fall in rail passenger transport performance between 2019 and 2020. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania reported decreases of more than 70 % in 2020 compared to 2019 (-75.0 % and -71.8 %, respectively), while North Macedonia and Montenegro decreased by almost 60 % (-59.7 % and -57.6 %, respectively). Serbia and Turkey almost halved (-46.7 % and -44.9 %). In the EU, rail passenger transport also almost halved (-45.9 %) in 2020 compared to 2019, from 415 million passenger-kilometres to 225 million passenger-kilometres.

In Turkey, rail accounted for 6 094 million passenger-kilometres in 2020. Rail passenger transport grew by 1.0 % annually on average from 2010, when there were 5 491 million passenger-kilometres. When looking at the period 2010-2019, the annual average growth was 8.1 %. Each of the other candidate countries or potential candidates saw a decreased rail passenger transport over the period 2010-2019. In Montenegro, rail passenger transport declined from 73 to 66 million passenger-kilometres over the period 2010-2019, an average annual change of -1.1 %. Serbia’s rail passenger traffic decreased by 2.4 % annually between 2012 (older data is not available) and 2019, from 333 to 281 million passenger-kilometres; in 2020, rail accounted for 150 million passenger-kilometres. North Macedonia saw a significant decrease in rail passenger transport over the period 2010-2019, from 155 to 62 million passenger-kilometres, an annual change rate of -9.7 %; in 2020, rail accounted for 25 million passenger-kilometres. In Albania, rail passenger transport declined from 19 to 2 million passenger-kilometres over the period 2010-2019, an annual change by -21.7 %; in 2020, rail accounted for 0.6 million passenger-kilometres. There is no 2010 rail passenger data for Bosnia and Herzegovina; rail passenger traffic was 56 million passenger-kilometres in 2019 and 14 million passenger-kilometres in 2020. There is no rail data available for Kosovo. There is no EU aggregate available for 2010, but when comparing to 2007, rail transport showed an annual average increase of 1.5 %, from 346 565 million in 2007, to 415 238 million in 2019; in 2020, rail accounted for 224 516 million passenger-kilometres.

The market share of passenger transport was clearly dominated by road transport in the candidate countries and potential candidates for which data is available for 2019. North Macedonia registered the highest market share of road passenger transport, with 99.4 %, whereas rail passenger transport represented only a small fraction (0.6 %). Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded similar market shares: 96.8 % for road passenger transport and 3.2 % for rail passenger transport; nevertheless, road data for Bosnia and Herzegovina refers to 2016 (more recent data is not available). Serbia followed closely, with a share of 93.8 % for road passenger transport, and 6.2 % for rail passenger transport (road data refers to 2017 as more recent data is not available). Montenegro’s passenger transport was more balanced between the two modes of transport: road passenger transport accounted for 62.4 %, while rail passenger transport accounted for 37.6 %; in 2020, the share was even more balanced: 51.4 % for road and 48.6 % for rail. Not enough or no data available for comparison for Albania, Kosovo and the EU.

Freight transport

Tables 3 and 4 show transport of freight measured in tonne-kilometres for road and rail (performed on the national territory by any road or rail vehicle, regardless of their place of registration), 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.

In Turkey, road freight transport in 2020 accounted for 272 913 million tonne-kilometres, showing an average annual increase of 3.7 % from a decade before, when it was 190 365 million tonne-kilometres. Rail freight transport was 15 345 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, an average annual increase of 3.1 % from 2010, when it was 11 300 million tonne-kilometres. Freight loaded and unloaded in maritime Turkish ports accounted for 490 556 thousand tonnes in 2020, up from 338 078 thousand tonnes in 2010, an average annual increase of 3.8 %. Air freight grew even faster, from 560 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2010 to 1 399 thousand in 2020, an average annual growth of 9.6 %; when looking at the period 2010-2019, the increase was even larger with an average annual growth of 12.1 %.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, road freight transport also increased over the period 2010-2020, from 2 039 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 3 901 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, an average annual increase of 6.7 %. Rail freight transport accounted for 1 030 million tonne-kilometres in 2020. Rail freight data is not available for 2010, while there is no sea freight data available. Air freight loaded and unloaded in 2020 accounted for 2.6 thousand tonnes, an average annual increase of 6.0 % compared to 2012 (2010 data is not available), when it was 1.6 thousand tonnes.

Table 3: Road and rail freight transport, 2010, 2019 and 2020
(million tonne-kilometres)
Source: Eurostat (road_go_ta_tott), (rail_go_total), (rail_pa_typepas) and Eurostat data collection

Serbian road freight transport grew on average by 8.2 % a year from 563 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 1 239 million tonne-kilometres ten years later. Rail freight data is not available for 2010 but when looking at the period 2012-2020, there was an annual average growth of 1.8 %, up to 546 million tonne-kilometres in 2020 from 473 million tonne-kilometres in 2012. For air freight, data is also not available for 2010. In 2020, 16.8 thousand tonnes of freight were loaded and unloaded in Serbian airports. There are no maritime ports in Serbia.

In North Macedonia, 820 million tonne-kilometres of freight were hauled by road. There is no road data available for earlier years. Rail freight accounted for 342 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, down from 525 million tonne-kilometres in 2010, an annual rate decline of 4.2 %. In 2020, 2.1 thousand tonnes of air freight were loaded and unloaded in North Macedonia; there is no data available for 2010. There are no maritime ports in North Macedonia.

In Montenegro, road freight accounted for 91 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, while rail freight recorded 130 million tonne-kilometres; road and rail data are not available for 2010. In 2020, 2 044 thousand tonnes of freight were loaded and unloaded in maritime Montenegrin ports, an annual average growth rate of 7.3 % over the period 2012-2020 (2010 data is not available). In 2020, 0.3 thousand tonnes of air freight were loaded and unloaded in Montenegro; air data is not available for 2010.

Table 4: Sea and air freight transport (loaded and unloaded), 2010, 2019 and 2020
(thousand tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (mar_mg_aa_cwh), (avia_gooc) and Eurostat data collection

Road freight transport data is not available for Albania. Rail freight transport declined substantially from 66 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 43 million tonne-kilometres in 2019 and to 26 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, an annual average fall of 4.7 % over the period 2010-2019 and of 8.9 % over the period 2010-2020. Maritime freight remained relatively stable over the decade with 4 200 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2010 and 4 277 thousand tonnes in 2020. Air freight also remained stable over the period 2010-2019, but show a substantial decline in 2020 to 1.8 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded from 2.3 thousand tonnes in 2010.

Kosovo data is available only for rail: in 2010, 67 million tonne-kilometres were hauled, falling to 23 million tonne-kilometres in 2019 and to 17 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, an average annual decline of 12.9 % over the period 2010-2020.

In the EU, road freight haulage increased from 1 609 429 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 1 803 188 million tonne-kilometres in 2020, an average annual increase of 1.1 %. Rail freight grew slightly over the period 2010-2019 at an average annual rate of 0.7 %: from 374 952 million tonne-kilometres in 2010 to 400 521 in 2019; in 2020, a substantial decrease was observed compared to 2019 (-7.5 %), down to 370 607 million tonne-kilometres. Maritime freight increased from 3 159 million tonnes loaded and unloaded in 2010 to 3 587 million tonnes in 2019, an average annual increase of 1.4 %; in 2020, a substantial decrease was observed compared to 2019 (-7.3 %), down to 3 326 million tonnes. Air freight grew slightly faster at an average annual rate of 2.5 % over 2010-2019: the figure at the start of this period was 11 011 thousand tonnes loaded and unloaded and 13 743 thousand tonnes in 2019; in 2020, a substantial decrease was observed compared to 2019 (-9.6 %), down to 12 426 thousand tonnes.

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).

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. These statistics are made available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website.

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.

Information concerning the current statistical legislation on transport statistics can be found here.

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 complies 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.