Mongolia: Rail lines (total route-km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Mongolia's rail lines (total route-km) did not change 0% on 2020 (from 1,821 to 1,821).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2020), the average change was +0% and a typical year strayed about 0.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 0.7% in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.7% in 2015. 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 20% 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, Mongolia had the 41st 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 Mongolia in the 2021 ranking

• Azerbaijan — 38th of 61: 2,139
• Lithuania — 39th of 61: 1,919
• Latvia — 40th of 61: 1,859
• Tunisia — 42nd of 61: 1,777
• Israel — 43rd of 61: 1,720
• Malaysia — 44th of 61: 1,655

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 26 values

Rail lines (total route-km) in nearby economies

• China — 109,767 (2021)
• Indonesia — 5,483 (2019)
• Korea, Rep. — 4,309 (2021)
• Malaysia — 1,655 (2021)
• Thailand — 4,092 (2017)
• Viet Nam — 3,159 (2021)

More infrastructure data for Mongolia

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 4.89 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 140.67 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 519,169 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 14.94 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 3.72% (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$58.54 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 3.05% (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 7,240 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 26.52 (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

1,821 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 0.61% from 1,810 in 1996. The highest value was 1,823 in 2014 and the lowest 1,810 in 1996.

How does Mongolia rank?

41st highest of 61 economies with data for 2021.

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

In 2021, Mongolia's rail lines (total route-km) did not change 0% on 2020 (from 1,821 to 1,821). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2020), the average change was +0% and a typical year strayed about 0.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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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