24.8 million bags mishandled in a year
Source: SITA baggage report, 2018
In 2018 the aviation industry mishandled 24.8 million bags at a cost of about $2.4 billion — though most were delayed and returned, not lost for good.
Surprising travel statistics — interesting, verified facts on how the world really moves.
TravelStatsMan is a data desk for the numbers behind how people and goods actually move — the ones that tend to surprise even seasoned travellers. Every statistic published here is traced back to a primary source, dated, and checked before it goes live, from the cost of a single gigabyte of mobile data in 237 countries to the value of the luggage the aviation industry loses in a year. Together they add up to a running collection of surprising travel facts — quick, verified travel stats rather than opinion.
The quickest way in is the interactive mobile-data map, which prices 1GB across the globe. Travellers weighing a local SIM against roaming can then compare the main options on the travel-eSIM guide, or test their instincts against the real figures in Guess the Data. Everything else is gathered in the full statistics index — each entry a single, sourced fact rather than an opinion.
Lead Report · Global Connectivity
What a gigabyte of mobile data costs in 237 countries
The price of a single gigabyte of mobile data is one of the most uneven travel statistics on earth — a few cents in some countries, tens of dollars in others. The index maps the current cost across 237 countries and territories so travellers can see, at a glance, where staying connected is cheap and where it is punishing.
It is also one of the most practical travel statistics on the site: the same figures decide whether a local SIM, a roaming plan or a travel eSIM is the sensible choice for a given trip.
237
Countries indexed
The global cost of 1GB of mobile data
Explore the interactive world map of 1GB mobile-data pricing, sourced from the cable.co.uk worldwide pricing survey.
Explore the map≈75 chest X-rays a year
Source: aviation radiation research
Long-haul crews absorb cosmic radiation at altitude equivalent to about 75 chest X-rays over a year — one of the more unexpected numbers in travel.
By the numbers — surprising travel statistics
$2.4bn
Cost of mishandled baggage, 2018
SITA report · 2018
75
Chest X-rays of radiation a pilot absorbs yearly
Aviation radiation research
363bn
Litres of jet fuel airlines burn in a year
IATA · 2019
237
Countries in the mobile-data price index
cable.co.uk survey
What the most interesting travel statistics reveal
Read together, the most interesting travel statistics gathered here fall into a few clear threads. The first is price. The same gigabyte of mobile data costs a few cents in one country and tens of dollars in another; the price of a Big Mac swings from about $1.57 to $6.59 depending on where it is sold; and a passport can cost under $15 or well over $200. Each is a rough proxy for how expensive a place is for a visitor, and each is mapped or ranked in full elsewhere on the site.
A second thread is the sheer scale of aviation. Airlines mishandle roughly 24.8 million bags a year, burn hundreds of billions of litres of jet fuel, and fly aircraft that are, on average, newer than the cars on most driveways — while crews absorb cosmic radiation equivalent to dozens of chest X-rays over a working year. The Boeing 737 remains the most common airliner in the sky.
A third thread is distance and borders. The world's most powerful passports open more than 170 destinations without a visa while the weakest open barely two dozen; the longest single train journey runs for the better part of nine days; and city rankings show how sharply the sense of safety varies between the safest and most dangerous places on the map.
What ties the threads together is a simple test: a statistic earns a place here only if it is genuinely surprising and can be stood up against a real source. Many of the numbers sound too strange to be true — an aircraft newer than a family hatchback, a passport that costs more than a short-haul flight — and turn out to be exactly right once the figures are checked. Others do not survive the check, and those are corrected or dropped rather than repeated. Where a number can only be estimated, it is presented as an estimate, with the reasoning shown, so nothing is dressed up as harder data than it is. The aim is a reference of surprising travel facts that is fun to browse and safe to cite — interesting travel statistics a reader can actually trust.
More surprising travel facts — money, borders & the long way round
4.2×
Gap between the priciest and cheapest Big Mac
The Economist · 2016
176
Destinations open to the most powerful passport
Henley Index · 2017
8.5
Days on the world's longest scheduled train ride
Moscow–Pyongyang service
$223
Cost of the world's most expensive passport
Australia · 2018
Start here
The tools built to make the data usable — an interactive map, a game and a practical comparison — plus the complete index of every statistic on the site.
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1GB mobile-data world map
Cost of a gigabyte across 237 countries, on one interactive map.
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Guess the data
Guess where a figure lands, then see the real answer — travel stats as a game.
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Travel eSIM comparison
How the main travel eSIM plans compare on price and coverage.
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All statistics
Every sourced figure on the site, grouped by topic.
How every figure is verified
Every travel statistic published here is traced back to a primary source — a government transport department, an international industry body such as SITA or ICAO, an operator's own disclosure, or a peer-reviewed study. The source and its year are printed next to the number.
Where a figure is a point-in-time fact, the desk keeps the original figure and labels its year rather than restating old data as new. Where an estimate is involved, it is labelled as such. The data desk is editorial and independent of any travel service it writes about.
When two sources disagree, the more authoritative and more recent figure is used and the discrepancy is noted rather than smoothed over. A number that cannot be stood up is corrected or dropped rather than repeated — several figures inherited from older write-ups were changed on exactly that basis. A headline statistic is only ever as good as the source standing behind it.
Figures are refreshed when a newer primary source is published; historical facts keep their original date.
Primary sources across the desk
- SITA
- IATA
- ICAO
- IOC
- OAG
- Henley Index
- The Economist
- cable.co.uk
- Natural Earth
The desk in numbers
- 76sourced statistical reports
- 237countries & territories mapped
Every figure is dated and traced to a named source — nothing restated as current, no number without its origin.
Most cited
The $2.4 billion baggage problem
The most-referenced report on the site: how much luggage the aviation industry mishandles, and what it costs.
Read the reportFrequently asked questions
What the site is, where the numbers come from, and how to read them.
What is TravelStatsMan?
TravelStatsMan is an independent data desk that collects, verifies and publishes surprising statistics about travel and transport — from the cost of mobile data around the world to the value of the luggage the aviation industry loses each year. Every figure is traced to a primary source and dated, so a reader can check where it came from.
How are the statistics verified?
Each figure is traced to a primary source — a government department, an international industry body such as SITA or IATA, an operator's own disclosure, or a peer-reviewed study — and the source and its year are printed beside the number. Point-in-time facts keep their original date rather than being restated as current, and estimates are labelled as estimates.
What does 1GB of mobile data cost around the world?
It ranges from a few cents to tens of dollars depending on the country. The interactive world map prices 1GB across 237 countries and territories using the cable.co.uk worldwide pricing survey, so travellers can see where staying connected is cheap and where it is punishing.
Which travel statistics on the site are the most surprising?
Among the most read: the aircraft you fly is on average newer than the car on most driveways, the world's most powerful passport opens more than 170 destinations visa-free while the weakest opens barely two dozen, and the longest single train journey runs for the better part of nine days.
How often is the data updated?
Historical, point-in-time facts keep their original date and are clearly labelled by year. Figures are refreshed whenever a newer primary source is published, and the mobile-data price index is updated from the latest cable.co.uk survey.