Chile: Rail lines (total route-km)

Key figures

Since 1995 it is down 12.62% from 2,742 in 1995 (0.52% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 13 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2021, Chile's rail lines (total route-km) did not change 0% on 2020 (from 2,396 to 2,396).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +1.3% and a typical year strayed about 6.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 16.5% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.6% in 1999. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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, Chile had the 35th highest value of the 61 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 Chile in the 2021 ranking

• Netherlands — 32nd of 61: 3,041
• Croatia — 33rd of 61: 2,617
• Portugal — 34th of 61: 2,527
• Greece — 36th of 61: 2,339
• Morocco — 37th of 61: 2,295
• Azerbaijan — 38th of 61: 2,139

What this measures

The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.

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.

All 14 values

Rail lines (total route-km) in nearby economies

• Uruguay — 1,498 (2021)

More infrastructure data for Chile

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1.74 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 8.79 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 144,494 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,499 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 21.32 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 26.22 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 132.66 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$764.07 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 5.87% (2025)
• Patent applications, nonresidents

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Chile's rail lines (total route-km)?

2,396 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 12.62% from 2,742 in 1995 (0.52% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2,742 in 1995 and the lowest 2,030 in 2004.

How does Chile rank?

35th highest of 61 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in rail lines (total route-km) unusual for Chile?

In 2021, Chile's rail lines (total route-km) did not change 0% on 2020 (from 2,396 to 2,396). Across the 9 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +1.3% and a typical year strayed about 6.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IS.RRS.TOTL.KM, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), uri: https://uic-stats.uic.org/ 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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