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Annual passengers carried on domestic and international flights of airlines registered in each country, not the nationality of passengers or the number using a country’s airports. A fixed cohort of the ten largest countries in 2023 is followed from 2000 to 2023: United States, China, Ireland, India, Türkiye, Japan, United Kingdom, Russia, Indonesia and Brazil. Rankings over time refer only to this group. Transitions are interpolated, not monthly observations; figures may be revised.
World Bank, World Development Indicators: air transport, passengers carried, based on ICAO statistics and staff estimates; edition updated 8 October 2026. CC BY 4.0 and World Bank terms. Download the source observations (CSV).
Illustrative background: Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 at Blue Grass Airport, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Country flags: Flagcdn.
