How much railway is there?
Railway network, 133 countries & territories. Length of railway route available for train service (World Bank, from UIC and national sources). Reporting is patchy; each country shows its latest year since 2010.
lowest≥ 438 km≥ 791 km≥ 1,653 km≥ 2,721 km≥ 4,101 km≥ 11,511 km no data
Source: Railisa Database, International Union of… via World Bank; CIA World Factbook for 42 countries· 2010 / 2023
The ranking
- 1
United States 148,553 km 2021 - 2
China 109,767 km 2021 - 3
Russia 85,544 km 2021 - 4
India 68,103 km 2021 - 5
Canada 48,150 km 2021 - 6
Germany 33,401 km 2021 - 7
Australia 32,606 km 2022† - 8
Brazil 29,850 km 2014† - 9
France 27,716 km 2021 - 10
Mexico 23,389 km 2017† - 11
Ukraine 21,626 km 2020 - 12
South Africa 20,953 km 2021 - 13
Japan 20,087 km 2011 - 14
Poland 18,620 km 2021 - 15
Argentina 17,866 km 2019 - 16
Italy 17,305 km 2021 - 17
United Kingdom 16,179 km 2021 - 18
Kazakhstan 16,006 km 2021 - 19
Spain 15,963 km 2021 - 20
Romania 10,769 km 2021 - 21
Türkiye 10,546 km 2021 - 22
Sweden 9,714 km 2021 - 23
Iran 9,455 km 2021 - 24
Czechia 9,357 km 2021 - 25
Cuba 8,367 km 2017† - 26
Hungary 8,037 km 2021 - 27
Pakistan 7,791 km 2019 - 28
Turkmenistan 7,680 km 2018 - 29
North Korea 7,435 km 2014† - 30
Finland 5,918 km 2021 - 31
Indonesia 5,483 km 2019 - 32
Belarus 5,474 km 2021 - 33
Egypt 5,153 km 2016 - 34
Austria 4,962 km 2021 - 35
Uzbekistan 4,732 km 2021 - 36
South Korea 4,309 km 2021 - 37
New Zealand 4,128 km 2018† - 38
Switzerland 4,122 km 2021 - 39
Thailand 4,092 km 2017 - 40
Bulgaria 4,031 km 2021 - 41
Algeria 4,001 km 2021 - 42
Bolivia 3,960 km 2019† - 43
Norway 3,885 km 2021 - 44
Kenya 3,819 km 2018† - 45
DR Congo 3,641 km 2021 - 46
Slovakia 3,626 km 2021 - 47
Belgium 3,612 km 2021 - 48
Nigeria 3,528 km 2015 - 49
Serbia 3,348 km 2021 - 50
Vietnam 3,159 km 2021
† From CIA World Factbook, for countries the main source misses. Countries without a World Bank figure use the CIA World Factbook’s total railway length (final 2026 edition; each country has its own reference year). Where both report a country (89), 55 agree within 10% and 71 within 25%; some differ widely, as the Factbook counts more freight and industrial lines in a few countries (United States: 293,564 km in the Factbook vs 148,553 km at the World Bank).
Reference years differ by country (2010–2023); each row shows its own year.