Maps
Mapping Airways: The World’s Flight Paths and Airports
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Mapping Airways: World’s Flight Paths and Airports
There are up to 8,755 commercial flights in the air at any given time of day. These flights transport thousands of people (and millions of dollars worth of goods) around the world.
But where are these people and goods headed? This map from Adam Symington uses historical data from OpenFlights to visualize the world’s flight paths.
The graphic shows a comprehensive data set encompassing 67,663 different routes that connect 10,000 different airports across the globe.
A Note On the Data
The map uses an OpenFlights database provided by the third-party source that hasn’t been updated since June 2014.
Because of this, the data used for the graphic is of historical value only. However, this detailed map sparked our curiosity and got us wondering—what are some of the busiest aviation hubs around the world right now?
We did some digging, and here’s what we found.
Busiest Airports by Passengers
There are several ways to gauge an airport’s popularity. One way is to measure total passenger traffic throughout the year.
According to Airports Council International (ACI), eight of the top 10 busiest airports for passenger traffic in 2021 were in America. Here’s a look at the top 10 list, as of April 11, 2022:
Rank | Airport | Country | Passenger Traffic (2021) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta GA (ATL) | 🇺🇸 US | 75,704,760 |
2 | Dallas/Fort Worth TX (DFW) | 🇺🇸 US | 62,465,756 |
3 | Denver CO (DEN) | 🇺🇸 US | 58,828,552 |
4 | Chicago IL (ORD) | 🇺🇸 US | 54,020,399 |
5 | Los Angeles CA (LAX) | 🇺🇸 US | 48,007,284 |
6 | Charlotte NC (CLT) | 🇺🇸 US | 43,302,230 |
7 | Orlando FL (MCO) | 🇺🇸 US | 40,351,068 |
8 | Guangzhou (CAN) | 🇨🇳 China | 40,259,401 |
9 | Chengdu (CTU) | 🇨🇳 China | 40,117,496 |
10 | Las Vegas NV (LAS) | 🇺🇸 US | 39,754,366 |
In 2021, the airport with the most passenger traffic was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It accommodated more than 75 million passengers last year—a 76.4% increase compared to 2020 figures.
Hartsfield-Jackson is well-known for being one of the busiest airports in the world. One reason for this is its convenient location—according to the airport’s official website, Atlanta is within a two-hour flight from 80% of the U.S. population.
Dallas/Forth Worth (DFW) came in second place, seeing 62.5 million passengers throughout 2021. DFW was one of the only airports to boost its service offerings throughout the pandemic, and is also the main hub for American Airlines, the world’s largest airline by fleet size.
Busiest Airports by Cargo
While the U.S. dominates the ranking when it comes to passenger traffic, the list is much more diverse when looking at air cargo volumes. Here’s a look at the ranking, based on loaded and unloaded freight and mail (including transit freight):
Rank | Airport | Country | Cargo Traffic (Metric Tonnes, 2021) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hong Kong SAR (HKG) | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 5,025,495 |
2 | Memphis TN (MEM) | 🇺🇸 US | 4,480,465 |
3 | Shanghai (PVG) | 🇨🇳 China | 3,982,616 |
4 | Anchorage AK (ANC) | 🇺🇸 US | 3,555,160 |
5 | Incheon (ICN) | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 3,329,292 |
6 | Louisville KY (SDF) | 🇺🇸 US | 3,052,269 |
7 | Taipei (TPE) | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 2,812,065 |
8 | Los Angeles CA (LAX) | 🇺🇸 US | 2,691,830 |
9 | Tokyo (NRT) | 🇯🇵 Japan | 2,644,074 |
10 | Doha (DOH) | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 2,620,095 |
Hong Kong (HKG) takes the top spot since the airport processed more than 5.0 million metric tonnes of freight and mail throughout 2021.
Hong Kong has been known as one of the busiest air cargo hubs for over a decade and is able to maintain this reputation because of its strategic location, impressive infrastructure, efficient customs, and business-friendly trade regulations.
The COVID-19 Impact on Aviation
The global pandemic hit the aviation industry hard. At its lowest point, international travel was down 98% from normal levels.
While the aviation industry is starting to recover from its COVID-induced slump, things still haven’t fully bounced back yet, especially in places like Shanghai, where lockdowns are still being mandated.
But experts remain hopeful for the future. According to ACI World’s General Director Luis Felipe de Oliveira, last year’s recovery was just the beginning.
“With many countries taking steps towards the return of a certain normality, lifting almost all the health measures and travel restrictions as supported by science, we welcome the continuation of air travel demand’s recovery in 2022.”
-Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World’s Director General
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Misc
Mapped: Asia’s Population Patterns by Density
We visualize Asia’s population patterns to see where 4.6 billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population, actually live.
A Map of Asia’s Population Patterns by Density
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Nearly 60% of the world’s 8 billion population lives in Asia: a vast continent sprawling over 44 million km², home to sprawling megacities, high-altitude deserts, the world’s biggest plateau, and impenetrable rainforests.
We visualize Asia’s population patterns using data from WorldPop—a research group based out of the University of Southampton that tracks population growth and movement across the globe.
A spike on the map denotes higher population density.
Other figures in this article are sourced from World Population Review (population numbers) and the World Bank (area).
Ranked: Asia’s Countries By Population
Immediately the map visualizes at impressive scale a rather well-known fact: that India and China together account for 35% of the world’s population just by themselves.
Pakistan (ranked 4th in population) and Bangladesh (ranked 5th) together account for another 400 million people.
The role of the Himalayas in this distribution is understated: the mountain range is a source of ten major rivers, flowing to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China, providing fresh water to 1.3 billion people in its watershed.
Rank | Country | Population | Area |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇮🇳 India | 1,437,982,661 | 3,287,260 km² |
2 | 🇨🇳 China | 1,425,317,720 | 9,562,910 km² |
3 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 279,119,626 | 1,916,907 km² |
4 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 243,772,596 | 796,100 km² |
5 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 174,173,808 | 147,570 km² |
6 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 144,101,449 | 17,098,250 km² |
7 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 122,833,540 | 377,974 km² |
8 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 119,106,224 | 300,000 km² |
9 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 99,308,524 | 331,340 km² |
10 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 89,626,661 | 1,745,150 km² |
11 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 86,127,389 | 785,350 km² |
12 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 71,863,281 | 513,120 km² |
13 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 54,849,472 | 676,590 km² |
14 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 51,756,284 | 100,430 km² |
15 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 46,225,266 | 435,050 km² |
16 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 43,026,322 | 652,860 km² |
17 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 37,473,929 | 2,149,690 km² |
18 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 35,522,965 | 448,924 km² |
19 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 34,982,136 | 555,000 km² |
20 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 34,562,556 | 330,411 km² |
21 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 31,136,781 | 147,180 km² |
22 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 26,220,850 | 120,540 km² |
23 | 🇸🇾 Syria | 24,010,759 | 185,180 km² |
24 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 23,942,522 | 36,197 km² |
25 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 21,933,155 | 65,610 km² |
26 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 19,764,158 | 2,724,900 km² |
27 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 17,071,236 | 181,040 km² |
28 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 11,368,898 | 89,318 km² |
29 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 10,448,636 | 86,600 km² |
30 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 10,277,238 | 141,379 km² |
31 | 🇦🇪 UAE | 9,569,300 | 98,648 km² |
32 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 9,272,228 | 22,070 km² |
33 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 7,736,681 | 236,800 km² |
34 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 6,807,948 | 199,950 km² |
35 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 6,573,631 | 488,100 km² |
36 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 6,119,203 | 728 km² |
37 | 🇵🇸 Palestine | 5,494,963 | 6,025 km² |
38 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 5,257,501 | 10,450 km² |
39 | 🇴🇲 Oman | 4,692,824 | 309,500 km² |
40 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 4,337,703 | 17,820 km² |
41 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 3,720,477 | 69,700 km² |
42 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 3,480,040 | 1,564,116 km² |
43 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 2,777,979 | 29,743 km² |
44 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 2,730,864 | 11,490 km² |
45 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 1,494,745 | 790 km² |
46 | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 1,374,025 | 14,870 km² |
47 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 1,260,138 | 9,250 km² |
48 | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 790,918 | 38,390 km² |
49 | 🇲🇻 Maldives | 518,765 | 300 km² |
50 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 454,869 | 5,770 km² |
Note: Russia and Georgia are typically regarded as European countries for cultural reasons, despite their geographic locations. They have been included in the dataset for context only.
Other countries that are covered by red: Indonesia (ranked 4th in population), Japan (ranked 7th), and the Philippines (8th), are all some of Asia’s most populous countries.
They also have some of the world’s densest cities:
- Manila: 42,857 people/km²
- Mumbai: 28,195 people/km²
- Karachi: 24,000 people/km²
- Jakarta: 14,464 people/km²
Tokyo and Beijing—despite being some of the world’s largest cities by population—record lower densities in comparison, helped by their much larger administrative areas.
But when sorted by average population density across the entire country, the ranks look a little bit different.
Ranked: Asia’s Countries By Population Density
The city state of Singapore is the densest country in Asia, with more than 8,000 people/km². Far behind it, the similarly sized in area Bahrain has one-sixth the population and ranks second (1,892/km²) in Asia’s densest countries.
Rank | Country | Population Density |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 8,405 people/km2 |
2 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 1,892 people/km2 |
3 | 🇲🇻 Maldives | 1,729 people/km2 |
4 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 1,180 people/km2 |
5 | 🇵🇸 Palestine | 912 people/km2 |
6 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 661 people/km2 |
7 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 515 people/km2 |
8 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 503 people/km2 |
9 | 🇮🇳 India | 437 people/km2 |
10 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 420 people/km2 |
11 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 397 people/km2 |
12 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 334 people/km2 |
13 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 325 people/km2 |
14 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 306 people/km2 |
15 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 300 people/km2 |
16 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 243 people/km2 |
17 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 238 people/km2 |
18 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 218 people/km2 |
19 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 212 people/km2 |
20 | 🇨🇳 China | 149 people/km2 |
21 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 146 people/km2 |
22 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 140 people/km2 |
23 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 136 people/km2 |
24 | 🇸🇾 Syria | 130 people/km2 |
25 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 127 people/km2 |
26 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 120 people/km2 |
27 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 110 people/km2 |
28 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 106 people/km2 |
29 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 105 people/km2 |
30 | 🇦🇪 UAE | 97 people/km2 |
31 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 94 people/km2 |
32 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 94 people/km2 |
33 | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 92 people/km2 |
34 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 81 people/km2 |
35 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 79 people/km2 |
36 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 79 people/km2 |
37 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 73 people/km2 |
38 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 66 people/km2 |
39 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 63 people/km2 |
40 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 54 people/km2 |
41 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 51 people/km2 |
42 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 34 people/km2 |
43 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 33 people/km2 |
44 | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 21 people/km2 |
45 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 17 people/km2 |
46 | 🇴🇲 Oman | 15 people/km2 |
47 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 13 people/km2 |
48 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 8 people/km2 |
49 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 7 people/km2 |
50 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 2 people/km2 |
Note: Russia and Georgia are typically regarded as European countries for cultural reasons, despite their geographic locations. They have been included in the dataset for context only.
Bangladesh, with 1,180 people/km², has the rare distinction of being a top five Asian country by both population and average population density.
Meanwhile, India is 9th in population density (437 people/km²), its large landmass bringing down the average considerably.
Similarly, China nearly breaks into the top 20 with a population density of 149 people/km². Despite its vast population, the country’s immense size presents a challenge, particularly in its western regions, which are largely inhospitable to substantial human settlement due to the presence of mountains, the Tibetan plateau, and two deserts.
At the bottom of the rankings, Mongolia (2 people/km²) and Kazakhstan (7 people/km²) are some of the least dense countries in the world.
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