Canada: Railways, goods transported (million ton-km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Canada's railways, goods transported (million ton-km) fell 3.1% on 2020 (from 444,032 to 430,170).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2020), the average change was +2.6% and a typical year strayed about 5.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 12.8% in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 12% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 7,529 a year. A straight line explains 74% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Canada had the 5th highest value of the 49 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Canada in the 2021 ranking

• United States — 2nd of 49: 2.24 million
• India — 3rd of 49: 719,762
• Australia — 4th of 49: 453,091
• Germany — 6th of 49: 123,067
• Mexico — 7th of 49: 92,437
• Poland — 8th of 49: 54,387

What this measures

Goods transported by railway are the volume of goods transported by railway, measured in metric tons times kilometers traveled.

Limitations: Data for transport sectors are not always internationally comparable. Unlike for demographic statistics, national income accounts, and international trade data, the collection of infrastructure data has not been "internationalized." The data from UIC is based on voluntary reporting by railway companies, and can show drastic increases or decreases for some of the years due to lack of reporting by some of the companies in that country.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 26 values

Railways, goods transported (million ton-km) in nearby economies

• United States — 2.24 million (2021)

More infrastructure data for Canada

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 10.97 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 27.6 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1.08 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 2,036 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 88.62 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 37.4 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 94.11 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$24.75 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 14.39% (2025)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Canada's railways, goods transported (million ton-km)?

430,170 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 75.13% from 245,625 in 1996 (2.27% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 446,081 in 2019 and the lowest 245,625 in 1996.

How does Canada rank?

5th highest of 49 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in railways, goods transported (million ton-km) unusual for Canada?

In 2021, Canada's railways, goods transported (million ton-km) fell 3.1% on 2020 (from 444,032 to 430,170). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2020), the average change was +2.6% and a typical year strayed about 5.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IS.RRS.GOOD.MT.K6, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), uri: https://uic-stats.uic.org/select/; OECD Statistics, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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