Live estimate · modelled from a dated total · how it's made
Air passengers carried this year
- 5.2 billion Projection · 2026 · IATA
- 164 passengers per second, modelled
- +0 Since you opened this page
Putting it in perspective
- Per second
- 164
- Per minute
- 9,886
- Per hour
- 593,201
- Per day
- 14,236,824
- Still to come this year
- 1,333,404,105
Counted in passengers.
How this number is made
- Source
- IATA, Airline Profitability Stabilizes with 3.9% Net Margin Expected in 2026 (9 Dec 2025)
“Passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.2 billion in 2026 (up 4.4% on 2025).”
- Step 01
Take IATA’s figure for 2026: 5.2 billion (a projection).
- Step 02
Spread it evenly over a year of 31,557,600 seconds (365.25 days): about 165 passengers per second.
- Step 03
Count from 00:00 UTC on 1 January of the current year, so the number resets every New Year.
- On screen
- The result of those steps, recomputed four times a second in your browser. Nothing on this page is fetched live from the publisher.
- Why this can't be exact
- Real activity is not spread evenly: it clusters in working hours, weekdays and seasons, so the count runs ahead or behind the true figure at any given moment. The annual figure is IATA’s projection; the counter moves to the published actual once it is released. Digits beyond the first two or three are the model ticking, not extra precision.
Embed this counter
Free to embed anywhere. The counter keeps its source line and a link back to this page.
<iframe src="https://statorigin.org/embed/live/air-passengers" width="100%" height="220" style="border:0;border-radius:8px" title="Air passengers carried this year, live counter" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://statorigin.org/live/air-passengers">Air passengers carried this year</a>, live counter from StatOrigin, CC BY 4.0</p>Cite this counter
A modelled figure: cite the published number it comes from when you can.
StatOrigin. (2026). Air passengers carried this year [Live counter, extrapolated from IATA]. Retrieved 29 Sep 2026, from https://statorigin.org/live/air-passengers
More in transport
Electric cars sold this year Electric cars sold this year: extrapolated from
23 million (projection, 2026, IEA).
≈ 43.7 electric cars per minute 23 million in 2026, projection · IEA Containers shipped this year Containers shipped this year: extrapolated from
280 million (estimate, 2025, WSC).
≈ 8.87 containers per second 280 million in 2025, estimate · WSC EV battery capacity deployed this year EV battery capacity deployed this year: extrapolated from
1.2 TWh (actual, 2025, IEA).
≈ 2.28 megawatt-hours per minute 1.2 TWh in 2025, actual · IEA