OAG Travel News

Per capita is a Latin term that means “per person”.  We often hear statistics that measure elements per person – e.g., per capita income, per capita tax rates and per capita crime rates.

This led me to wonder about per capita flights.  What countries have the most flights scheduled commercial per person?  What countries have the least scheduled commercial flights per person?  This week’s analysis includes the flights per capita for all of the 214 individual countries and territories included in OAG.  As you scan the list, you will see the great variance in flights per capita… Not surprisingly, islands make up 41 of the top 50 spots.  Additional notes of interest are included within the list.  Enjoy!

1.    Monaco – 108 flights per 1,000 people
All of Monaco’s flights are on helicopters (the Eurocopter Ecureuil) to the same destination – Nice, France.
2.    British Virgin Islands – 92 flights per 1,000 people
3.    Greenland – 64 flights per 1,000 people
4.    Turks & Caicos Islands – 60 flights per 1,000 people
5.    Netherlands Antilles – 49 flights per 1,000 people
6.    Montserrat – 42 flights per 1,000 people
7.    Cocos/Keeling Islands – 41 flights per 1,000 people
8.    Cayman Islands – 40 flights per 1,000 people
9.    Loyalty Islands – 39 flights per 1,000 people
10.    Cook Islands – 37 flights per 1,000 people
11.    Bahamas – 30 flights per 1,000 people
12.    Antigua/Barbuda – 26 flights per 1,000 people
13.    Seychelles Islands – 26 flights per 1,000 people
14.    French Polynesia – 25 flights per 1,000 people
15.    Anguilla – 25 flights per 1,000 people
16.    Christmas Island – 24 flights per 1,000 people
17.    Aruba – 21 flights per 1,000 people
18.    St. Kitts/Nevis – 17 flights per 1,000 people
19.    Futuna Island – 17 flights per 1,000 people
20.    Guadeloupe – 14 flights per 1,000 people
21.    Bermuda – 13 flights per 1,000 people
22.    Iceland – 13 flights per 1,000 people
23.    Norway – 11 flights per 1,000 people
Norway is the first non-island to make the list!
24.    Bahrain – 9 flights per 1,000 people
25.    Vanuatu – 9 flights per 1,000 people
26.    New Zealand – 9 flights per 1,000 people
27.    St. Pierre & Miquelon – 9 flights per 1,000 people
28.    Maldives – 8 flights per 1,000 people
29.    Gibraltar – 8 flights per 1,000 people
30.    Barbados – 8 flights per 1,000 people
31.    Cyprus – 7 flights per 1,000 people
32.    Grenada/Carriacou – 7 flights per 1,000 people
33.    United Arab Emirates – 7 flights per 1,000 people
34.    St. Vincent/Grenadines – 7 flights per 1,000 people
35.    Luxembourg – 6 flights per 1,000 people
36.    St. Lucia – 6 flights per 1,000 people
37.    Dominica – 6 flights per 1,000 people
38.    Malta – 6 flights per 1,000 people
39.    Fiji – 6 flights per 1,000 people
40.    Qatar – 6 flights per 1,000 people
41.    United States of America – 5 flights per 1,000 people
42.    Canada – 5 flights per 1,000 people
The USA and Canada have the same number of flights per capita despite a very large population disparity; the USA is home to 307 million people, compared to Canada’s 33 million.
43.    Niue – 5 flights per 1,000 people
44.    New Caledonia – 5 flights per 1,000 people
45.    Australia – 5 flights per 1,000 people
46.    Cape Verde – 5 flights per 1,000 people
47.    Ireland – 4 flights per 1,000 people
48.    Denmark – 4 flights per 1,000 people
49.    Switzerland – 4 flights per 1,000 people
50.    Martinique – 4 flights per 1,000 people
51.    Singapore – 4 flights per 1,000 people
52.    Trinidad & Tobago – 4 flights per 1,000 people
53.    Greece – 4 flights per 1,000 people
54.    Marshall Islands – 4 flights per 1,000 people
55.    Sweden – 3 flights per 1,000 people
56.    Spain & Canary Islands – 3 flights per 1,000 people
57.    Finland – 3 flights per 1,000 people
58.    Falkland Islands – 3 flights per 1,000 people
59.    Montenegro – 3 flights per 1,000 people
60.    Austria – 3 flights per 1,000 people
61.    United Kingdom – 3 flights per 1,000 people
62.    Panama – 3 flights per 1,000 people
63.    Solomon Islands – 3 flights per 1,000 people
64.    Portugal – 3 flights per 1,000 people
65.    Brunei – 2 flights per 1,000 people
66.    Kuwait – 2 flights per 1,000 people
67.    Latvia – 2 flights per 1,000 people
68.    Micronesia - 2 flights per 1,000 people
69.    Netherlands - 2 flights per 1,000 people
70.    Italy - 2 flights per 1,000 people
71.    Germany - 2 flights per 1,000 people
72.    Costa Rica - 2 flights per 1,000 people
73.    France - 2 flights per 1,000 people
74.    Belgium - 2 flights per 1,000 people
75.    Oman - 2 flights per 1,000 people
76.    Estonia - 2 flights per 1,000 people
77.    Mayotte - 2 flights per 1,000 people
78.    Malaysia - 2 flights per 1,000 people
79.    Nauru - 2 flights per 1,000 people
80.    Reunion Island - 2 flights per 1,000 people
81.    Belize - 2 flights per 1,000 people
82.    Croatia - 2 flights per 1,000 people
83.    Mauritius – 1 flight per 1,000 people
84.    Czech Republic - 1 flight per 1,000 people
85.    Gabon - 1 flight per 1,000 people
Gabon is the first African nation to appear on the list!
86.    Slovenia - 1 flight per 1,000 people
87.    Saudi Arabia - 1 flight per 1,000 people
88.    Jamaica - 1 flight per 1,000 people
89.    Taiwan - 1 flight per 1,000 people
90.    Israel - 1 flight per 1,000 people
91.    Tonga - 1 flight per 1,000 people
92.    Japan - 1 flight per 1,000 people
93.    Lebanon - 1 flight per 1,000 people
94.    French Guiana - 1 flight per 1,000 people
95.    Samoa - 1 flight per 1,000 people
96.    Bolivia – 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
97.    Korea – 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
98.    Equatorial Guinea - 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
99.    Hungary - 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
100.    Colombia - 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
101.    Papua New Guinea - 0.9 flight per 1,000 people
102.    Jordan – 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
103.    Mexico - 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
104.    Ecuador - 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
105.    Honduras - 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
106.    Chile - 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
107.    Tuvalu - 0.8 flight per 1,000 people
The only airport in Tuvalu is in the capital of Funafuti – Funafuti International Airport, whose three-letter code is FUN!
108.    Comoros – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
109.    Botswana – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
110.    Libya – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
111.    South Africa – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
112.    Namibia – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
113.    Turkey – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
114.    Sao Tome & Principe – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
115.    Djibouti – 0.7 flight per 1,000 people
Djibouti is home to only one airport – Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport (JIB).  Service to 13 nonstop destinations is provided by eight airlines.
116.    Bulgaria – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
117.    Lithuania – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
118.    Guyana – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
119.    Albania – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
120.    Brazil – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
121.    Romania – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
122.    Thailand – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
123.    Venezuela – 0.6 flight per 1,000 people
124.    Macedonia – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
125.    Dominican Republic – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
126.    Poland – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
127.    Tunisia – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
128.    Armenia – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
129.    Uruguay – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
130.    Argentina – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
131.    Suriname – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
132.    Mongolia – 0.5 flight per 1,000 people
133.    Russia – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
134.    Serbia – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
135.    Peru – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
136.    Kyrgyzstan – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
137.    Slovakia – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
138.    El Salvador – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
139.    Kazakhstan – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
140.    Morocco – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
141.    Congo – 0.4 flight per 1,000 people
142.    China – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
China is the world’ most populated country with over 1.3 billion people.
143.    Philippines – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
144.    Laos – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
145.    Moldova – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
146.    Georgia – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
147.    Cambodia – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
148.    Bosnia & Herzegovina – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
149.    Iran – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
150.    Algeria – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
151.    Cuba – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
152.    Nepal – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
153.    Ukraine – 0.3 flight per 1,000 people
154.    Indonesia – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
155.    Kenya – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
156.    Egypt – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
157.    Swaziland – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
158.    Vietnam – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
159.    Azerbaijan – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
160.    Syria – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
161.    Nicaragua – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
162.    Zambia – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
163.    Guatemala – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
164.    Kiribati – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
165.    Belarus – 0.2 flight per 1,000 people
166.    Mauritania – 0.1flight per 1,000 people
167.    Bhutan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
168.    Uzbekistan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
169.    Tanzania – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
170.    Yemen – 0.flight per 1,000 people
171.    Paraguay – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
172.    Tajikistan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
173.    Senegal – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
174.    East Timor – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
175.    Sri Lanka – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
176.    Lesotho – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
177.    Angola – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
178.    Madagascar – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
179.    Guinea Bissau – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
180.    Zimbabwe – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
181.    Turkmenistan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
182.    Haiti – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
183.    India – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
India is the second-most populated country in the world with over 1.1 billion people, but ranks as one of the smallest as measured by flights per capita.
184.    Gambia – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
185.    Mozambique – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
186.    Ghana – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
187.    Myanmar – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
188.    Rwanda – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
189.    Nigeria – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
190.    Benin – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
191.    Sudan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
192.    Mali – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
193.    Somalia – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
194.    Afghanistan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
195.    Pakistan – 0.1 flight per 1,000 people
196.    Ethiopia – 0.05 flight per 1,000 people
197.    Cote d’Ivoire – 0.05 flight per 1,000 people
198.    Cameroon – 0.05 flight per 1,000 people
199.    Uganda – 0.05 flight per 1,000 people
200.    Liberia – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
201.    Bangladesh – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
202.    Togo – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
203.    Malawi – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
204.    Burundi – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
205.    Eritrea – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
206.    Iraq – 0.04 flight per 1,000 people
207.    Guinea – 0.03 flight per 1,000 people
208.    Sierra Leone – 0.03 flight per 1,000 people
209.    Burkina Faso – 0.03 flight per 1,000 people
210.    Central African Republic – 0.02 flight per 1,000 people
211.    Democratic Republic of Congo – 0.02 flight per 1,000 people
212.    Chad – 0.02 flight per 1,000 people
213.    Niger – 0.01 flight per 1,000 people
214.    North Korea – 0.003 flight per 1,000 people
North Korea has the least number of flights per capita.  In August 2009, there are 38 flights – slightly over one per day – for North Korea’s 23.5 million people.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for scheduled commercial service in August 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; various population sources including the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

Note: Numbers have been rounded.