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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Estonia's railways, goods transported (million ton-km) rose 23.1% on 2020 (from 1,729 to 2,128).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was −1.9% and a typical year strayed about 15.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations above 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 23.1% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 31% in 2014. 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 downward, about 333.57 a year. A straight line explains 78% 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, Estonia had the 38th 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 Estonia in the 2021 ranking

• Morocco — 35th of 49: 3,148
• Serbia — 36th of 49: 2,925
• Portugal — 37th of 49: 2,699
• Israel — 39th of 49: 1,085
• Kyrgyz Republic — 40th of 49: 1,003
• Cameroon — 41st of 49: 874.05

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 27 values

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

• Albania — 25.12 (2021)
• Armenia — 840 (2020)
• Austria — 21,781 (2021)
• Azerbaijan — 5,316 (2021)
• Belarus — 44,478 (2021)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 1,040 (2020)
• Bulgaria — 4,658 (2021)
• Croatia — 3,172 (2021)
• Czechia — 16,326 (2021)
• Denmark — 2,592 (2018)

More infrastructure data for Estonia

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 2.06 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 151.13 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 227,420 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 16.72 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 52.79% (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 92.24% (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 3 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 27 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$3.99 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

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

2,128 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 44.67% from 3,846 in 1995 (2.25% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 10,639 in 2005 and the lowest 1,729 in 2020.

How does Estonia rank?

38th highest of 49 economies with data for 2021.

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

In 2021, Estonia's railways, goods transported (million ton-km) rose 23.1% on 2020 (from 1,729 to 2,128). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was −1.9% and a typical year strayed about 15.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations above 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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