China has more metro track than the next six combined
Length of urban metro networks by country, km, end of 2023.
China's metro network, more than the US, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia and Spain combined (5,317 km).
China's share of the world's 20,453 km of metro in 2023, up from 19% in 2012.
China's network is six and a half times the length of the United States' (1,359 km).
the numbers
| Metro network length (km) | |
|---|---|
| China | 8,788 |
| United States | 1,359 |
| Japan | 973 |
| South Korea | 926 |
| India | 881 |
| Russia | 646 |
| Spain | 532 |
source notes & method
Data as of 31 Dec 2023, the latest UITP edition. Metro = heavy urban rail per UITP definition; excludes light rail, trams and suburban rail, so national figures differ from government counts (e.g. India's MoHUA counts ~993 km in Dec 2024). The next-six total (5,317 km) and the 6.5× ratio are derived. Global network was 9,512 km in 2010. Corrected 3 Nov 2026: title shortened to 10 words or fewer; no change to the data.
Published 3 Nov 2026
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