Spain: Rail lines (total route-km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Spain's rail lines (total route-km) rose 0.7% on 2020 (from 15,848 to 15,963).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +0.5% and a typical year strayed about 1.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 3.8% in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.5% in 2012. 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 44.1 a year. A straight line explains 72% 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, Spain had the 11th 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 Spain in the 2021 ranking

• Italy — 8th of 61: 17,305
• United Kingdom — 9th of 61: 16,179
• Kazakhstan — 10th of 61: 16,006
• Romania — 12th of 61: 10,769
• Türkiye — 13th of 61: 10,546
• Sweden — 14th of 61: 9,714

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 27 values

Rail lines (total route-km) in nearby economies

• Armenia — 698.4 (2021)
• Austria — 4,962 (2021)
• Azerbaijan — 2,139 (2021)
• Belarus — 5,474 (2021)
• Belgium — 3,612 (2021)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 1,018 (2019)
• Bulgaria — 4,031 (2021)
• Croatia — 2,617 (2021)
• Czechia — 9,357 (2021)
• Estonia — 1,033 (2017)
• Finland — 5,918 (2021)
• France

More infrastructure data for Spain

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 18.23 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 38.05 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 662,492 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,131 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 94.1 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 62.41 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 130.26 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 134 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 1,160 (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

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 Spain's rail lines (total route-km)?

15,963 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 15.21% from 13,856 in 1995 (0.55% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 15,963 in 2021 and the lowest 13,837 in 1996.

How does Spain rank?

11th highest of 61 economies with data for 2021.

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

In 2021, Spain's rail lines (total route-km) rose 0.7% on 2020 (from 15,848 to 15,963). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +0.5% and a typical year strayed about 1.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above 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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