The ten metro and rapid transit systems that carry the most passengers each year, led by China's massive urban rail networks.
Quick answer: 1. Shanghai Metro, 2. Beijing Subway, 3. Guangzhou Metro, 4. Shenzhen Metro, 5. Seoul Metropolitan Subway, 6. Delhi Metro, 7. New York City Subway, 8. Moscow Metro, 9. Chengdu Metro, 10. Mass Transit Railway (MTR).
China dominates the world's busiest metro rankings, with eight of the top twelve systems located in mainland Chinese cities. The Shanghai Metro alone carries more passengers in a year than the entire population of North America. Behind China, the subway systems of Seoul, Delhi, New York, and Moscow round out the global top ranks. This list ranks metro systems by annual ridership in millions of passenger trips. Figures come from the most recent year reported by each system's operating authority, compiled from transit databases and Wikipedia.
The Shanghai Metro is the world's busiest rapid transit system, carrying 3.77 billion passengers in 2024. It is also one of the longest metro networks globally, with 831 km of track and 508 stations serving China's largest city of 25 million people.
Beijing's subway carried 3.62 billion passengers in 2024, making it the second busiest in the world. It is the longest metro system by route length at 880 km, a figure that has doubled in the past decade as the network expanded into Beijing's sprawling suburbs.
Guangzhou's metro carried 3.26 billion passengers in 2024, serving the Pearl River Delta's manufacturing and trade hub. The system has grown rapidly alongside the city's population boom and now spans 668 km of track.
Shenzhen Metro carried 3.10 billion passengers in 2024, reflecting the city's explosive growth from a fishing village to a tech megacity of 18 million in just four decades. Its network is among the world's densest in terms of ridership per route-km.
Seoul's integrated metro system carried 2.71 billion passengers in 2024, serving the South Korean capital and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province. The network is operated by multiple agencies and covers the entire Seoul Capital Area, home to 26 million people.
Delhi Metro carried 2.36 billion passengers in 2025, making it the busiest metro system outside of East Asia. It serves India's National Capital Region and is renowned for its punctuality, modern trains, and extensive use of regenerative braking for energy efficiency.
The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the Western Hemisphere, carrying 2.31 billion passengers in 2025. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — one of only a handful of metro systems worldwide to do so — across 472 stations.
Moscow Metro carried 2.29 billion passengers in 2023, the most recent year reported. Known as one of the world's most beautiful subway systems for its ornate Stalinist-era stations with chandeliers, mosaics, and marble, it is also one of the most punctual with trains arriving every 90 seconds during peak hours.
Chengdu Metro carried 2.21 billion passengers in 2024. The capital of Sichuan province has seen its metro system expand dramatically over the past decade to keep pace with the city's rapid population growth and economic development in western China.
Hong Kong's MTR carried 1.77 billion passengers in 2024. Despite serving a much smaller population than the mainland Chinese systems above it, the MTR is renowned for being one of the few profitable metro systems in the world, thanks to its property-development model.
| # | Name | city | country | data_year | stations | route_length_km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai Metro | Shanghai | China | 2024 | 508 | 831 |
| 2 | Beijing Subway | Beijing | China | 2024 | 478 | 880 |
| 3 | Guangzhou Metro | Guangzhou | China | 2024 | 302 | 668 |
| 4 | Shenzhen Metro | Shenzhen | China | 2024 | 369 | 574 |
| 5 | Seoul Metropolitan Subway | Seoul | South Korea | 2024 | 339 | 368 |
| 6 | Delhi Metro | Delhi | India | 2025 | 288 | 393 |
| 7 | New York City Subway | New York City | United States | 2025 | 472 | 399 |
| 8 | Moscow Metro | Moscow | Russia | 2023 | 263 | 486 |
| 9 | Chengdu Metro | Chengdu | China | 2024 | 380 | 561 |
| 10 | Mass Transit Railway (MTR) | Hong Kong | China | 2024 | 99 | 271 |
Metro systems are ranked by annual unlinked passenger trips (each boarding counts as one trip, regardless of distance traveled), expressed in millions. Data is drawn from the most recent publicly available year for each system, as compiled by Wikipedia's List of metro systems and cross-checked against transit authority reports. Only fully grade-separated urban rapid transit systems are included; light rail, commuter rail, and tram systems are excluded.
China has invested massively in urban rail transit since 2010 as a solution to traffic congestion in its rapidly growing megacities. Many Chinese cities have populations exceeding 15 million, and their metro networks have been built at a speed and scale unmatched elsewhere in the world.
Not all long systems are the busiest. Beijing has the longest network (880 km) but carries fewer passengers than Shanghai. New York's subway has 399 km but carries roughly the same number of passengers per route-km as Moscow. Chinese systems tend to have very high ridership per km due to population density.
Systems like the London Underground (1.22 billion), Paris Metro (1.52 billion), and Tokyo Metro (combined with Toei: about 3+ billion if counted together) do not appear because the ranking uses individual system-level data. Tokyo's multiple operators (Tokyo Metro, Toei, JR East) are reported separately.
Most systems report 'unlinked passenger trips' (each boarding counts separately, even if a rider transfers). This is the industry standard, but some systems may use slightly different counting methodologies. The data years also vary — the most recent available figure for each system is used.