Table 4
Intensity of Physical Transportation Systems of World's Top Economies: 2008
| Ranked by total road miles per capita | Population density (number of people per square kilometer) | Total roadways | Paved roadways | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilometers per capita (1,000 persons) | Roadway kilometers per square kilometer land area | Kilometers per capita (1,000 persons) | Roadway kilometers miles per square kilometer land area | ||
| Australia | 0.4 | 105.8 | 0.04 | 44.4 | 0.02 |
| Sweden | 22 | 46.9 | 1.04 | 15.4 | 0.34 |
| Canada | 4 | 31.1 | 0.11 | 12.4 | 0.05 |
| United States | 34 | 21.0 | 0.71 | 13.7 | 0.46 |
| Norway | 15 | 19.9 | 0.31 | 15.5 | 0.24 |
| Spain | 81 | 16.8 | 1.37 | 16.8 | 1.37 |
| France | 116 | 14.9 | 1.73 | 14.9 | 1.73 |
| Belgium | 344 | 14.6 | 5.03 | 11.4 | 3.93 |
| Austria | 100 | 13.1 | 1.30 | 13.1 | 1.30 |
| Poland | 126 | 11.0 | 1.39 | 7.7 | 0.97 |
| Japan | 349 | 9.4 | 3.28 | 7.5 | 2.60 |
| Switzerland | 190 | 9.4 | 1.78 | 9.4 | 1.78 |
| Brazil | 23 | 8.8 | 0.21 | 0.5 | 0.01 |
| Italy | 198 | 8.4 | 1.66 | 8.4 | 1.66 |
| Netherlands | 493 | 8.1 | 4.00 | 6.8 | 3.33 |
| Germany | 236 | 7.8 | 1.85 | 7.8 | 1.85 |
| Saudi Arabia | 13 | 7.7 | 0.10 | 1.7 | 0.02 |
| Russia | 9 | 6.7 | 0.06 | 5.4 | 0.05 |
| United Kingdom | 253 | 6.5 | 1.65 | 6.5 | 1.65 |
| Turkey | 100 | 5.6 | 0.55 | 2.3 | 0.23 |
| Mexico | 57 | 3.2 | 0.18 | 1.6 | 0.09 |
| India | 392 | 2.8 | 1.12 | 1.3 | 0.51 |
| Korea | 501 | 2.1 | 1.06 | 1.7 | 0.83 |
| Indonesia | 133 | 1.6 | 0.22 | 0.9 | 0.12 |
| China | 140 | 1.4 | 0.20 | 1.2 | 0.16 |
NOTE: In this report, intensity is defined as a ratio of the extent of the physical transportation system to the geographical area it covers and to population size. It indicates the relative concentration of the infrastructure and the size that is available for use by the population.
SOURCES: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on data from Central Intelligence Agency, Fact Book 2009, available at www.cia.gov as of Sept. 20, 2009.
- When road networks are viewed in relation to total land area, countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and France have at least twice as many kilometers of roadways per square kilometer of land area as the United States. However, if road networks are viewed in relation to population, those three countries have fewer roadway kilometers per person than the United States-the result of the lower population density and vast geographic expanse of the United States.