Estonia: Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Estonia's railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) rose 10.3% on 2020 (from 263 to 290).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was −0.7% and a typical year strayed about 15% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above 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 28.6% in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 32.9% in 2020. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 47 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

• Latvia — 35th of 47: 360.8
• Lithuania — 36th of 47: 329
• Luxembourg — 37th of 47: 304
• Georgia — 39th of 47: 273.27
• Serbia — 40th of 47: 191
• Azerbaijan — 41st of 47: 104

What this measures

Passengers carried by railway are the number of passengers transported by rail multiplied by 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, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in nearby economies

• Albania — 0.81 (2021)
• Armenia — 55 (2017)
• Austria — 8,433 (2021)
• Azerbaijan — 104 (2021)
• Belarus — 4,486 (2021)
• Belgium — 6,970 (2021)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 15 (2020)
• Bulgaria — 1,205 (2021)
• Croatia — 540 (2021)
• Czechia

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
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Questions people ask

What is Estonia's railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)?

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

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 31.12% from 421 in 1995 (1.42% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 421 in 1995 and the lowest 178 in 2002.

How does Estonia rank?

38th highest of 47 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) unusual for Estonia?

In 2021, Estonia's railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) rose 10.3% on 2020 (from 263 to 290). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was −0.7% and a typical year strayed about 15% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IS.RRS.PASG.KM, 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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