Number of airline passengers per year

Air carrier data per country refers to passengers carried by airlines registered in that country regardless of the origin or destination of the passengers.

Aggregation method:

Sum

Statistical concept and methodology:

Methodology: The data is obtained from airports, airport operators, airport websites and/or civil aviation authorities. Data on passengers are reported annually by each State (for all its commercial air carriers, including scheduled and non-scheduled flights) via standardized forms sent to ICAO.

Each passenger is counted once per flight number and not repeatedly on each individual stage of that flight, with a single exception that a passenger flying on both the international and domestic stages of the same flight should be counted as both a domestic and an international passenger.

Where some carriers do not report, ICAO may use historical reports or published flight-schedules to estimate their traffic. Statistical concept(s): The number of passengers carried is obtained by counting each passenger on a particular flight (with one flight number) once only and not repeatedly on each individual stage of that flight, with a single exception that a passenger flying on both the international and domestic stages of the same flight should be counted as both a domestic and an international passenger.

Development relevance:

Aviation traffic data are essential for understanding the role of air transport in economic development, global connectivity, and social progress. These statistics, covering passenger volumes, freight volumes, and aircraft departures, provide a standardized measure of air transport activity across countries and regions and are closely linked to economic growth, trade integration, tourism development, and labor mobility.

Aviation traffic indicators also help assess the resilience and efficiency of transport systems, track the recovery from economic shocks or crises, and identify capacity constraints or infrastructure investment needs.

From a development perspective, aviation statistics support evidence-based policy making in areas such as transport planning, regional integration, climate and emissions management, and inclusive access to services, making them a key input for monitoring progress toward sustainable and connected economies.

Limitations and exceptions:

While ICAO aviation data provide a globally standardized and comprehensive view of air transport activity, several limitations affect their accuracy and comparability. Data quality depends on the completeness and consistency of country reporting, which can vary due to differences in national statistical capacity, regulatory environments, and adherence to ICAO definitions. Some countries may not report all relevant data, leading ICAO to estimate missing values using historical submissions and published schedules, which can introduce uncertainty. Changes in airline registration, mergers, or operational practices may also affect the attribution of traffic statistics. Additionally, the aggregation of scheduled and non-scheduled services, as well as the treatment of transit and transfer passengers, may differ across countries, impacting cross-country comparability.