In 2025, air and rail transport use increased compared to 2024, according to data released by INE.

According to preliminary data on transport activity, the National Statistics Institute (INE) estimates that there was a 4.7% increase in passenger transport by air (4.3% in 2024), rail (9.7%, compared to 9.2% in 2024) and metro (0.6%, compared to 9.0% in 2024).

By river, there was an annual decrease of 0.5% following a 6.8% increase in 2024.

Air transport

Air transport saw an acceleration in the number of commercial aircraft landing at national airports, up 4.0% from 0.9% a year earlier, for a total of 255,700 aircraft.

Annual passenger traffic grew to 73.8 million people, with international traffic increasing by 5.2% and accounting for 82.2% of total passengers (up from 81.9% in 2024).

Rail transport

For rail transport, INE points to a growth rate of 9.7%, up from 9.2% in 2024.

The document published by INE does not present a total figure for the year, but states that in the last three months, 61.2 million passengers travelled by rail, adding to the more than 178 million reported in the previous three quarters, for a total of close to 240 million passengers throughout the year.

Regarding the last quarter, INE also highlighted the evolution in interurban traffic, which reached 10.5 million passengers and maintained "the strong growth that began with the introduction of the Passe Verde Ferroviário (+58.1%; +101.5% in the third quarter).

In the metro, INE highlights that, in the last quarter of 2025, passenger transport by this mode reached 74.1 million, up 3.5% year-on-year.

As with railways, this indicator does not show a cumulative figure for the year, but adding up the data released in the previous three quarters points to a total of around 288 million passengers, compared to 286 million in 2024.

River transport

In the case of river transport, there is also no aggregate data for the year, with INE reporting that 5.6 million passengers were transported in the last quarter – equivalent to a 3.5% reduction compared to the same quarter last year – and the Terreiro do Paço – Barreiro connection, the busiest, falling by 4.3% in the same period, to 2.9 million passengers.

Adding the data for the last quarter to that for the other quarters of 2025, it is possible to calculate that 24.92 million passengers were transported on Portuguese rivers throughout the year, a decrease of 132,000 compared to 2024.

Freight transport

With regard to freight transport, the results indicate declines of 0.5% in air transport and 6.3% in sea transport, compared with increases of 14.2% and 4.3%, respectively, in 2024. By land, rail transport increased by 5.9%, after contracting by 8.1% in the previous year, and road transport fell by 7.1%, compared to 8.4% a year earlier.

Pipeline transport increased by 2.1% compared to the previous year, but gas transport by pipeline saw decreases in inflows (-2.9%, compared to -10.3% in 2024) and outflows (-2.9%; -10.4% in 2024).