Transport in China

China has the highest population of the countries included in the Transport Statistics database, although forecasts indicate that this will peak around 2030, when it will be overtaken by India. China is urbanising rapidly, with the percentage of residents in urban areas going from 20 per cent in 1980 to 40 per cent in 2005 and 60 per cent in 2030. Of all the countries included, China has seen the most rapid rise in the length of the motorway system, from 2,100 kilometres in 1995 to nearly 41,000 in 2005. Despite this, road density is low.

The forecast level of cars per person in China in 2015 is about the same as the level in Spain and Japan in 1960 (around 40 cars per 1000 persons). By around 2020, the number of cars in China could equal those in Japan.

The information you see above is just a sample of what we have available in the Transport Statistics Database. Additional information can be accessed by using the Table & Graph Builder. Data about China can be found in the following data sets:

• General & Infrastructure
• Energy & Emissions
• Safety
• Traffic & Travel
• Vehicle Stock

• National Bureau of Satistics - China Statistical Yearbook 2006
• National Bureau of Statistics