Statistics Brief

Future transport infrastructure:
Comparing national investments

Contents
Page 42
Page 6

Page 8Page 10

Why is investment
in transport
infrastructure falling?

Spotlight: Bridging
fjords and shifting
to rail in Norway

Geography plays acrucial role in seaport
investments

Tourism and connectivity
drive airport investment

Page 12Page 14

Page 16

Page 17

Highlight:
New Zealand and Türkiye

The shift to cleaner
transport is underway
in most ITF countries

Spotlight:
Mexico’s “Railvolution”

About the statistics

3© David Jancik / Shutterstock

Why is investment in transport
infrastructure falling?

Why is investment in transport
infrastructure falling?
Over half of ITF reporting member countries show a reduction
in total inland transport investment as a percentage of GDP. The
ITF’s moving average analysis explores the most recent data,comparing the average from 2018 to 2022 with the 2008-12
average to reveal two significant trends.

First, more developed countries are characterised by lowtransport infrastructure investment-to-GDP ratios andstagnant investment growth. These are the hallmarksof mature transport systems. Hungary and Norway are
the developed countries with the highest transportinfrastructure investment-to-GDP ratio (1.8% and 1.4%,respectively), and also experienced the highest increase ininland transport investment from 2008-12 to 2018-22.

Strategically located countries between Central Asia andEastern Europe present a high investment-to-GDP ratio.
The geographical positions of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia
and Serbia are a clear determinant of their high inlandtransport investment. Their locations are crucial for Eurasianconnectivity, international trade corridors and infrastructure
projects such as the New Silk Road Initiative.

See how transport infrastructure investment compares across countries and over time

Total inland transport investment as a percentage of GDP (2018-22 average) and percentage of GDP change (2008-12 compared to 2018-22 average)
Percentage of GDP change

China

Georgia

Azerbaijan

SerbiaHungary

North Macedonia

Australia

Albania

NorwayKorea

TürkiyeRomania

Switzerland

Slovakia

Czechia

Slovenia

Japan

Netherlands

Bulgaria

Estonia

Croatia

Lithuania

FinlandSwedenUnited Kingdom

FranceLatviaDenmark

Luxembourg

Germany

Italy

PolandMoldova

New ZealandAustria-1

Greece-1%Montenegro0United States0%

Canada1Spain1%

Iceland2

Belgium2%

Mexico3Ireland

3%

Percentage points

Percentage

Percentage of GDP

4

Spotlight: Bridging fjords
and shifting to rail in Norway© Feel good studio / Shutterstock5

Norway’s challenging terrain demands
innovative solutions to connect its counties.
Until recently, the country’s main highways
were interrupted by numerous fjords,
islands and bays, forcing passengers totake ferry connections to travel along theE39 coastal highway. Aiming to improveroad connectivity, in 2014, the Norwegian
government set the goal of a ferry-free E39
to connect Western Norway. Approximately
EUR 29 billion was dedicated to thetransformation of this highway, connecting
its separate segments via bridges andtunnels.
According to the National Transportation
Plan for 2014-23, the government upgradedother crucial corridors, improving
connectivity within the country and with its
neighbours.
As for rail, Norway is making major efforts
to improve its 4 000 km of outdated rail
infrastructure by building new tracks,
updating the existing network, investingin new digital signalling and strengthening
cross-border railway connections.

Extreme terrain and connectivity policies show in
Norway’s investment lead6

Total inland transport investment as a percentage of GDP
Norway is now looking to shift frompassenger and freight road transport
towards rail transport. Improved online
Internet coverage on trains and promoting
rail transport for heavy commodities, suchas lumber and ores, are part of the plan. The
main development projects aim to connect
Oslo with other urban areas in Eastern
Norway.
It is expected that the rail sector in
Norway will keep growing. As part of its
National Transportation Plan for 2022-33,
the Norwegian government will allocate
approximately EUR 34 billion over the next
10 years.
Upcoming major projects, including theInterCity network, will change the way
Norwegians move around the country.
The InterCity Network will add 270 km of
double tracks, allowing speeds up to 250
km/h. It is expected to be completed by2036 at an estimated cost of approximately
EUR 12 billion.

FinlandFranceGermany

NorwaySweden1.5%

Inland transport investment to GDP ratio (%)

Spotlight: Bridging
fjords and shifting
to rail in Norway

1.0%

0.5%

0.0%

2010

20152020

7© 9MOT / Shutterstock

Geography plays a crucialrole in seaport investments

Geography plays a crucial rolein seaport investments

Seaport investment by country

8Seaport investment as a percentage of GDP (average 2018-22)
0.15%

For the first time, this ITF Statistics Brief explores theinvestment-to-GDP ratio for ports. Iceland posts the highest
port investment-to-GDP ratio at 0.15%, outperforming otherislands, peninsulas or countries with longer coastlines.
Island nations – such as Iceland, Japan and New Zealand– invest a high percentage of their GDP in seaportinfrastructure due to their critical dependence on maritime
transport.

0.10%

Iceland

New Zealand

Lithuania

BulgariaItaly

Canada

Spain

Korea

PolandJapan

Australia

Netherlands

MexicoBelgium

Slovenia

Georgia

SwedenFinland

NorwayEstonia

Montenegro

FranceGermany

Ireland

Turkiye

GreeceAlbania0Moldova

While in absolute value Japan invests an outstanding
amount of capital in its port infrastructure, it falls short
relative to GDP compared to other countries. Lithuania andBulgaria, non-island countries with relatively small coastlines,
invest, respectively, 0.10% and 0.09% of their GDP in port
infrastructure.

0.05%

Azerbaijan

Germany

On average, Japan invested EUR 2.5 billion annually in port
infrastructure between 2018 and 2022, the highest absoluteamount among reporting countries. This can be explained by
Japan’s geography, which makes it highly dependent on sea
trade. Japan is also vulnerable to coastal natural disasters,
which demand constant high investments in this sector.
Following Japan, Italy, a peninsular country, and Canada, thecountry with the largest coastline, invested EUR 1.3 billion
and EUR 1.1 billion, respectively.

Percentage

Title for this graph to come here, posing or provoking a question / answer response

Tourism and connectivity
drive airport investment© Gil Toms / Shutterstock

9Tourism and connectivity
drive airport investment

China leads global airport investment

In our first-ever data analysis on airport
investment levels, China leads the ranking ofairport investment-to-GDP ratio, spending 0.2%
of its GDP on airports. New Zealand is second, at0.17%.

0.10%

0.05%

China

New ZealandAzerbaijan

Georgia

CroatiaTÜrkiye

Chile

Finland

Moldova

CanadaNorwaySwitzerland

SwedenMexicoSpain

IrelandCzechia

Netherlands

Estonia

Hungary

Germany

LatviaJapan

Lithuania

North MacedoniaPortugal

Korea

FranceBelgium

PolandLuxembourg

SerbiaItaly

GreeceUzbekistan

Slovenia

Slovakia

Iceland

Bulgaria

Montenegro

Albania

0.00%

Romania

In absolute values, the countries that leadthe ranking of highest annual average
investment in airports between 2018 and2022 are China (EUR 2.7 billion), Japan (EUR
1.5 billion), and Germany (EUR 1.3 billion).
This is explained by the size of their economy.

0.15%

Percentage

Azerbaijan (0.13%), Georgia (0.12%) andTürkiye (0.10%) complete the top five. Thesecountries provide a bridge between Europeand Asia. Türkiye’s outstanding absolute
airport infrastructure investment (totallingEUR 900 million), and its national carriers,
position the country as an international
aviation hub.

10

Airport investment as a percentage of GDP (average 2018-22)

Highlight:
New Zealand and Türkiye© Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock11

New Zealand’s tourism sector has witnessed a recentboom, evidenced by increasing passenger numbers andinternational airlines. According to OECD data, inboundinternational passengers increased 36% between 2014 and2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
To address the growing demand for tourism in New Zealand,
Auckland Airport announced a four-year investment plan

starting in 2018. In total, the airport will receive EUR 1 billion
to increase international and domestic capacity and toprovide a better and more efficient service for travellers.
Türkiye also recorded an increasing airport investment-toGDP ratio during the last decade. The country’s strategic
location, at the intersection of Africa, Asia and Europe, has
encouraged it to invest heavily in airport infrastructure.
Istanbul Airport, the country’s biggest, was inaugurated in2018 and already has the largest passenger capacity among
European airports at 90 million passengers annually. By

2028, it aims to become the busiest airport in the world,
raising its capacity to 200 million passengers.

12The Istanbul Airport mega project, the importance ofTürkiye’s national carriers worldwide, and the country’s
central position have made Türkiye a major aviation hub.

© Olena Tur / Shutterstock

Highlight:
New Zealand and Türkiye

13© Leonid Andronov / Shutterstock

The shift to cleaner transport isunderway in most ITF countries

Rail

20

Inland Waterways

0-20Moldova

Georgia

Belgium

China

Slovakia

Netherlands

GreeceHungary

Spain

Estonia

SwedenLatviaNew Zealand

Switzerland

FinlandUnited States

Romania

Korea

Azerbaijan

Austria

Lithuania

Albania

Italy

TürkiyeNorth Macedonia

United Kingdom

Luxembourg

Ireland

Bulgaria

Australia

PolandGermany

CanadaMexicoCroatiaJapan

Czechia

Slovenia

Norway-40

SerbiaInland waterway investment’s share of total
inland transport investment is generally
stable, with Belgium posting the largest
growth (3.5 percentage points). Belgium isalso the European country with the biggest
shift towards road transport, increasing
road infrastructure investment participation
in total inland transport investment by
22 percentage points. The nation at Europe’s
heart already has a dense rail network that
requires limited levels of new investment.

14

Rail and inland waterways investment participation change (percentage point difference between 2008-12 and 2018-22)

Denmark

France and Denmark lead the shift
in transport investment favouring
cleaner modes based on a decade-longcomparison of rail and inland waterway
investment between 2008-12 and 201822. Since the latest ITF update, these two
European countries confirm their lead inthe investment transition towards lowercarbon mobility. France increased its rail
investment share by 21.7 percentage
points, while Denmark’s share increased by
20 percentage points. Moldova and Georgia
continue to show the greatest shift awayfrom rail transport, respectively, at -35.7 and-28.5 percentage points.

Compare the investment switch towards a cleaner transport future across the globe

FranceThe shift to cleaner
transport is underway
in most ITF countries

Spotlight:
Mexico’s “Railvolution”© Javier Ismael Nabte Ake / Shutterstock15Mexico is outpacing its North Americanneighbours Canada and the United States,
expanding its rail transport capacity in aregion dominated by road transport.
Latin America has among the lowest use ofrailway transport worldwide. The networkis old, underdeveloped, and ununified
regionally. The unquestioned dominance ofroad transport in past decades has left rail
infrastructure unused across countries in
the region.
But things are changing: green transportand connectivity policies are favouring
railway revitalisation.
The latest update of the ITF’s transport
infrastructure investment data shows
Mexico increasing in rail investmentcompared to other modes. From 2012 to2022, Mexico annually directed, on average,
23% of its total inland transport investment

towards rail infrastructure, approximately
11 percentage points higher than Canadaand the United States.
While most of Mexico’s railway network
is destined for freight transport only,
recent governments have been working
to expand rail provision for passengers.
Mexico’s Secretariat of Infrastructure,Communications and Transport has financed
projects including the México-Toluca (ElInsurgente) line, the suburban train Ramal
Lechería-AIFA, and lines 3 and 4 of theGuadalajara light train: all passenger trains
aiming to increase regional and urbanconnectivity.
Other Mexican national Secretariats arealso financing major projects such as El
Tren Maya, the country’s longest passenger
railway. The first segment was inaugurated
in December 2023 and will be finalisedby 2024, changing mobility in the Yucatan
peninsula for locals and tourists alike.

Almost one-quarter of Mexico’s total inlandtransport investment goes to rail

16

Railway investment as a percentage of total inland transport
infrastructure investment in North America

MexicoCanadaUnited States40%

Rail as a percentage of inland investment

Spotlight:
Mexico’s “Railvolution”

30%20%10%0%

201020152020

About the statistics
The ITF statistics on investment,maintenance expenditure and capital valueof transport infrastructure for 1995-2022
are based on a survey sent to current ITF
member countries. The survey covers
total gross investment (defined as newconstruction, extensions, reconstruction,renewal and major repair) in road, rail, inland
waterways, maritime ports and airports,
including all sources of financing. It also
covers maintenance expenditures financedby public administrations and the capitalvalue of transport infrastructure. Inland
infrastructure investment covers rail, roadand inland waterways transport modes.
The ITF Secretariat collects data frommember countries in national currencies,
which are then converted to current prices
and constant euros. Significant efforts
have been devoted to collecting relevant
deflators needed to calculate the constant
Euro equivalent of data provided, since nopurchasing power parity corrected generalindex exists for transport infrastructure
investment.

Where available, a cost index forconstruction on land and water is used.
Where these indices are not available, amanufacturing cost index or a GDP deflator
is used.
Detailed country data for inland modes,
maritime ports and airports, moredetailed data descriptions and notes on
the methodologies are available on theOECD Data Explorer website.
The data in this Statistics Brief are asof 15 June 2024. Online datasets can beupdated following countries’ revisions.
The International Transport Forum at theOECD is an intergovernmental organisation
with 69 member countries. It acts as a thinktank for transport policy and organises
the Annual Summit of transport ministers.
The ITF is the only global body that covers
all transport modes. It is administratively
integrated with the OECD, yet politicallyautonomous.
© OECD/ITF 2024

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed and arguments
employed herein do not necessarily reflect
the official views of the member countriesof the ITF. This document, as well as any
data and map included herein, are without
prejudice to the status of or sovereignty
over any territory, to the delimitation ofinternational frontiers and boundaries, andto the name of any territory, city or area.
Date of Publication: 26 June 2024
Further information:
Rachele Poggi and Diego BoteroImage credits

Cover: © Mark Agnor / Shutterstock
See individual pages for other credits.

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