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Air passengers carried

Passengers carried by aircraft registered in the country.

Why it matters

A proxy for business connectivity and tourism capacity.

Read with care

Counts airlines by registration, not airports, so hubs served by foreign airlines look small.

Source

World Bank

passengers. 53 African countries, 1990 to 2023.

Air passengers: highest in South Africa, lowest in Lesotho

Air passengers carried, passengers. Latest year available, mostly 2023. 16 of 16 countries have data.

35,000
170k
320k
1m
No data
Loading map…
Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: air passengersiWhy it mattersA proxy for business connectivity and tourism capacity.

Click a country to highlight it.

0500k1m2m2m3mSouth Africa15mTanzania2mMauritius2mAngola1mDRC1mMozambique680kZambia322kMadagascar313kSeychelles237kBotswana173kZimbabwe92kNamibia60kEswatini35kComoros27k (1996)Malawi3,507Lesotho1,300 (1999)Axis cut: longest bar not to scalemedian 275k
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 275kLog scaleLowest: Lesotho 1,300Highest: South Africa 15m

Over time

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Air passengers carried against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

05m10m15m$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)Air passengersDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMalawiZambiaZimbabwe
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1South Africa15m2023down 37% since 2018B
2Tanzania2m2023up 13% since 2018B
3Mauritius2m2023down 14% since 2018B
4Angola1m2023down 13% since 2018B
5DRC1m2023up 96% since 2018B
6Mozambique680k2023up 26% since 2018B
7Zambia322k2023up 1834% since 2018B
8Madagascar313k2023down 42% since 2018B
9Seychelles237k2023down 48% since 2018B
10Botswana173k2023down 32% since 2018B
11Zimbabwe92k2023down 67% since 2018B
12Namibia60k2023down 90% since 2018B
13Eswatini35k2023down 33% since 2018B
14Comoros27k1996up 5% since 1991B
15Malawi3,5072023down 67% since 2018B
16Lesotho1,3001999down 95% since 1994B