Azerbaijan’s transport sector continued to expand in January–October 2025, with both freight and passenger traffic showing solid growth compared to the same period last year, according to official data.
Freight volumes up 2.3%
Transport operators across all modes moved 198.3 million tonnes of cargo in the first ten months of the year, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year.
The breakdown of freight traffic was as follows:
3.9% – maritime transport
7% – rail
0.2% – air
61.5% – road
27.4% – pipeline transport
The private sector strengthened its dominance, boosting its freight volumes by 3.7% and reaching 79.9% of all goods transported nationwide.
Passenger traffic rises 5.3%
Passenger transportation grew even faster, increasing 5.3% to a total of 1.785 billion passengers.
Road transport remained the preferred mode, carrying 89% of all passengers, followed by the Baku Metro with 10.3%. The remainder used maritime, rail and air transport.
Rail sector shows mixed dynamics
Railways carried 14 million tonnes of cargo – a decline of 9.7% compared to last year.
In contrast, passenger rail usage jumped 19.1%, reaching 8.27 million people, reflecting stronger domestic mobility.
Maritime transport accelerates
Sea transport handled 7.72 million tonnes of cargo, up 7.8% year-on-year.
Oil cargoes accounted for 48.1% of maritime volumes.
Azerbaijan’s ports processed 10.84 million tonnes of cargo, of which 79.1% (8.58 million tonnes) were transit shipments.
As of November 1, port terminals held 420,100 tonnes of stored cargo.
However, sea passenger traffic declined by 12%, totaling 21,300 travelers.
Road transport drives overall growth
Road transport – the backbone of the national system – delivered 122 million tonnes of cargo and carried 1.59 billion passengers.
Compared to the same period in 2024:
Freight volumes increased 6%
Passenger traffic grew 6.2%
Freight turnover rose 7.4%
Passenger turnover expanded 8.4%
Among road passengers, 95.6% used buses and 4.4% used taxis.
Metro ridership dips slightly
The Baku Metro carried 184.5 million passengers, down 2.5%, suggesting a gradual shift toward road-based transportation.
Air transport grows modestly
Air travel continued its recovery, serving 3.48 million passengers, up 3.2% year-on-year.
State-owned carriers performed 99.9% of flights, while private operators accounted for just 0.1%.
Air cargo volumes fell 5.6% to 322,000 tonnes.
Oil and gas pipeline flows remain stable
Main oil pipelines transported 30.58 million tonnes of crude.
The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline accounted for 74.4% of this volume, pumping 22.76 million tonnes. Of that, 85.1% originated in Azerbaijan, with the remaining 14.9% coming from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
Gas pipeline throughput reached 33.01 billion cubic meters, a slight increase of 0.5%.
The South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum) moved 19.14 bcm, or 58% of the total.
