The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

SCOTTISH TRANSPORT STATISTICS No 22 - 2003 Edition

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

1. Introduction

1.1 This chapter compares some statistics for Scotland with those for the fifteen EU countries, and with the overall EU figure where appropriate. All the figures are for the year 2000, unless indicated otherwise.

1.2 Section 2 sets out the main points from the comparisons. Section 3 covers the sources of the figures for the EU countries, and some points on the way in which the comparisons are presented in the table. Section 4 describes the sources of the figures for Scotland that appear in the table, and the accompanying figures for GB and the UK that are on the same basis as the figures for Scotland.

2. Main points

2.1 Some of these comparisons may not be exact, due to (e.g.) differences in definitions (see Sections 3 and 4). Care should be taken in cases where there is a noticeable difference between (a) the figure for the UK which appears among the figures for EU countries and (b) the figure for GB or UK which is on the same basis as the figure for Scotland.

2.2 Scotland had a low population (only Ireland and Luxembourg had fewer people) and a low population density - 65 people per square kilometre in 2001, compared with the overall EU figure of 117 for 2000; only Ireland, Finland and Sweden had a lower population density than Scotland.

2.3 For its area, Scotland had a short Motorway network - 4.9 km of Motorway per thousand square kilometres, compared with 15.9 for the EU as a whole; only Ireland, Finland and Sweden had a lower figure than Scotland. Similarly, the total length of the road network was short relative to Scotland's area - in 1999, 683 km of road per thousand square kilometres, compared with the overall EU figure of 1,221; only Germany, Finland and Sweden had lower figures than Scotland.

2.4 Scotland also had a short rail network for its area - 34.6 km of route per thousand square kilometres, compared with the overall EU figure of 48.3; only six EU countries had a lower value than Scotland.

2.5 Scotland had few cars for the size of its population - 370 per thousand population, compared with 469 for the EU as a whole; only Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Portugal had lower figures than Scotland. However, relative to the population, the number of new registrations of cars in Scotland was only just below the overall EU level - Scotland had 37 new registrations per thousand population; the EU figure was 38.

2.6 Scotland also had few goods vehicles relative to the size of its population - 38 per thousand population compared with the overall EU figure of 63 per thousand; only Germany had a lower figure.

2.7 The table's figures for the distance travelled per head of population in Scotland are on a different basis from those for the EU countries (see section 4.10). However, the modal shares should be comparable (NB: walking and cycling are excluded from the calculation of these modal shares, for consistency with the figures in the relevant table of the EU publication). Passenger cars accounted for a slightly higher percentage of travel in Scotland (83.8%) than in the EU as a whole (80.5%), with only the UK as a whole having a higher figure than Scotland. The modal share for powered two-wheelers was lower in Scotland (0.3%) than in any EU country (the overall EU figure was 3.2%). Buses and coaches had a slightly higher modal share in Scotland (10.3%) than in the EU as a whole (8.8%), but nine countries had a higher figure than Scotland. For rail, the modal share in Scotland (5.5%) was slightly below the overall EU figure (6.4%); seven countries had lower figures than Scotland.

2.8 Relative to the size of its population, Scotland had slightly fewer international air passengers to or from EU countries (0.90 per head of the population, not counting internal UK traffic) than the overall EU figure (1.04 per head). Only Germany, France and Italy had lower figures than Scotland.

2.9 Scotland had 64 road deaths per million population, well below the overall EU figure (108 per million). Only the UK as a whole had a lower figure.

2.10 For freight transport, road had a low modal share in Scotland (64.6%, compared with the overall EU figure of 74.6%) due to the high modal share of pipelines (25.9%, higher than in any EU country). The modal shares of rail and inland waterways in Scotland were both below the overall EU figures.

3. The source of the statistics for EU countries, and some points on the table

3.1 Almost all the statistics for EU countries which appear in this chapter were taken from the "2002" edition of "EU Energy and Transport in Figures", which is a publication produced annually by the EC Directorate General for Energy and Transport with the assistance of Eurostat. It can be found on the EU Web site at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy_transport/etif/index.html

A paper copy (in a "pocketbook" format) can be obtained (free of charge) from the EU, by sending an e-mail to: tif@cec.eu.int

Although described as the "2002" edition, it was published in January 2003. All the figures taken from it are for 2000 unless indicated otherwise.

3.2 "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" contains many transport statistics for EU countries, but far fewer figures for non-EU countries, so this chapter does not include any comparisons with any countries outwith the EU.

3.3 The EU publication includes many transport statistics for EU countries (e.g. employment in various modes of transport, production of vehicles of various types, and freight tonne-kilometres for various modes of transport) which do not appear in this chapter for a range of reasons. For example, (a) they may not come within the "scope" of "Scottish Transport Statistics", or (b) a topic was thought unlikely to be of great interest to readers of "Scottish Transport Statistics", or (c) there was no readily-available comparable figure for Scotland.

3.4 It was stated earlier that almost all the statistics for EU countries were taken from "EU Energy and Transport in Figures". The exceptions were a few EU countries' figures for road accident fatalities. In a few cases, the figures in Table 3.6.1 of "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" differed slightly from those in Table 8.7 of DfT's "Transport Statistics Great Britain 2002". On the advice of DfT, the "TSGB 2002" figure was taken in such cases.

3.5 A number of points should be noted about the way in which the table provides the comparisons:

• the order in which the EU countries are listed may be thought unusual (it is mainly, but not wholly, alphabetical order of the English versions of their names), but it is the same as the order in which they appear in "EU Energy and Transport in Figures";
• in many cases, the table provides figures (e.g.) per thousand population or per thousand square kilometres, as these are often a better way to compare countries of greatly differing sizes. Most of these were calculated using the countries' areas and populations as they appeared in "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" - sometimes with only a couple of significant digits (e.g. the population of Denmark is shown as 5.3 million). As a result, the results will not be as precise as they would have been had figures with a greater number of significant digits been available. So, the "per …" figures for some countries should be regarded as broad indicators rather than as precise measures;
• in general, the table's figures for Scotland are on broadly the same basis as those for the EU countries. The Scottish figures may not be on exactly the basis used for the EU countries' figures (e.g.) because (a) data on that basis may not be available for Scotland, or (b) the EU publication does not define precisely the basis of its figures. In any case, there may be differences between the EU countries in the basis of some of their figures. There is plenty of scope for differences in interpretation or definition (e.g. should the surface area of inland lochs and lakes be included when calculating a country's area?);
• the table's figures for Scotland may differ from those elsewhere in "Scottish Transport Statistics", because the aim is to give figures for Scotland which are on the same basis as the GB or UK figures given in the final two columns.
• the final two columns provide figures for GB as a whole, or for the UK as a whole, which are on the same basis as the figures for Scotland. The closer that these figures are to the UK figures from "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" (which appear in the column to the left of the one with figures for the EU as a whole), the closer that the basis of the figures for Scotland may be to the basis used for the figures for the EU countries.
• in most cases, the final two columns provide only figures for GB. This is because many of the figures for Scotland come from GB-wide surveys conducted by the Department for Transport. DfT's publications (e.g. "Transport Statistics Great Britain") provide many more figures for GB than for the UK, and equivalent figures for the UK as a whole may not be as readily available. As Northern Ireland accounts for, generally, only a small percentage of a UK figure, there would usually be little difference between figures for GB and for the UK as a whole, particularly for the "per…" figures, which are often the preferred means of comparing different countries.
• some of the figures for Scotland, GB and/or UK appear with more significant digits than the figures for the EU countries, in order to calculate more precisely the "per …" figures.

4. The sources of the statistics for Scotland, and for GB and UK on the same basis

4.1 This section lists the sources of the table's figures for Scotland, and of its figures for GB or the UK that are on the same basis as the figures for Scotland.

4.2 In general, notes on and definitions of the figures for Scotland (and, by implication, the figures on the same basis for the UK or GB as a whole) appear in the relevant chapters. Therefore, this section covers only matters which are not dealt with there.

4.3 Population, area and population density : The figures for Scotland, for GB and for the UK are for 2001, to take account of the results of the Population Census. They were taken from, or calculated from, Tables 16.1 and 17.1 of "Regional Trends 37", which is only available on the Office for National Statistics Web site - the address of the Contents page is: http://www.national-statistics.co.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/Regional_Trends_37/Regional_Trends_37_contents_revised.pdf

4.4 Motorways : the figures for Scotland and for GB are for 2000. They were taken from Table 3.20 of "Transport Statistics Great Britain 2001 edition" ("TSGB 2001"). The DfT's figure for Scotland was used in this table. It differs slightly from the figure for the length of motorways in Scotland (including slip roads) in Table 5.1 of this publication ( "Scottish Transport Statistics").

4.5 All roads : the figures for Scotland and for GB are for 1999, like the EU figures. They were taken from Table 3.19 of "TSGB 2000". The DfT's figure for Scotland was used in this table. It differs slightly from the figure for the length of roads in Scotland (including slip roads) in Table 5.1 of this publication.

4.6 Railways : the figure for GB is for the route length at the end of the financial year 1999/00. It was taken from Table 9.3 of "TSGB 2002". The figure for Scotland is for the route length at the end of the financial year 1997/98. It was taken from Table 8.6 of this publication, which shows that 1997/98 is the latest year for which "route length" figures for Scotland are available (figures for later years are only available on a "track length" basis).

4.7 Passenger cars, and new registrations of passenger cars : the figures for Scotland and GB are for 2000. They are taken from Table 3.2 of DfT's "Regional Transport Statistics 2001 edition" ("RTS 2001"), which includes figures for "new registrations" and "currently licensed" cars.

4.8 Powered two wheelers : the figures for Scotland and GB are for 2000. They are taken from Table 3.1 of "RTS 2001", which includes figures for "motorcycles, scooters and mopeds".

4.9 Goods vehicles : the figures for Scotland and GB are for 2000. The Scottish figure is taken from Table 1.2 of this publication, and the GB figure is taken from Table 3 of DfT's "Vehicle Licensing Statistics: 2000 data" statistical bulletin. They are the totals of the figures for the body types "light goods" and "goods" (the latter being heavy goods vehicles). The result of using the "body type" figures is slightly different from that which would have been obtained had "taxation group" figures been used.

4.10 Passenger transport - distance travelled and modal shares

4.10.1 The figures for Scotland and GB are for the three year period 1999/2001. A three year period is used because the National Travel Survey sample in Scotland is too small to provide any figures for a single year. Figures for the three year period "centred" on 2000 should represent the position around 2000. Most of the figures are taken from DfT's "National Travel Survey 1999/2001 Update": its Table 3.1 gives the average distance travelled by each mode of travel for GB as a whole, and its Table 6.3 gives some of the figures for Scotland. The other figures for Scotland are taken from an unpublished updated version of Table B of "Travel by Scottish residents: some National Travel Survey results for 1998/2000", a Scottish Executive bulletin which is (at present) published triennially.

4.10.2 Some points of detail on these figures should be mentioned. First, the NTS figures that were used relate to the "mode" of travel, not to the "main mode" that is used in some other analyses of NTS figures. Second, Table 6.3 of the DfT bulletin groups together some of the modes which appear separately in the more detailed tables; in such cases, figures from the latter have been used. Third, the "passenger cars" category consists of "car only - driver", "car only - passenger" and "taxi / minicab"; the "buses and coaches" category covers "private hire bus", "bus in London", "local bus" and "non-local bus"; and the "tram / metro" category relates only to the London Underground (the Glasgow Underground is not identified in the results of the NTS).

4.10.3 The NTS average for the total distance travelled per person in GB (covering all modes of transport) is 6,815 miles, or 10,967 kilometres. This is noticeably less than the "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" UK total of 12,536 kilometres for the modes of travel shown in the table. This difference arises because the two sets of figures are on different bases:

• the NTS figures relate only to personal travel within GB, and are produced from the results of a survey of households across GB;
• the EU publication's figures have been derived by dividing estimates of the total "volume" of travel (passenger-kilometres) within the country by the total population of the country.

The kinds of travel which would be counted using the latter approach (but not by the NTS) include

• travel within GB/UK by foreign tourists and other non-residents;
• travel for business purposes (e.g. to and from meetings);
• and, possibly, some travel in the course of their work by the likes of lorry drivers, postmen and bus drivers.

Therefore, estimates produced using the latter approach will be greater than the NTS estimates, which cover only personal travel by residents.

4.10.4 The table on the next page shows how one can obtain figures for the UK which are, in general, very close to the EU publication's figures for the UK. The slight differences may be due to the calculation of the figures for "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" using a greater number of significant digits. The larger difference for "Rail" is due to trams and urban metros being included in the "Rail" figure in the "TSGB" table, but being excluded from the "Rail" figures in the EU publication.

4.10.5 It is not possible to produce figures on this basis for Scotland, because there are no official estimates of the total passenger-kilometres travelled within Scotland (including travel by foreign tourists and for business purposes). The only Scottish estimates of the average distance travelled per head of population are NTS ones, which cover only personal travel by residents.

4.10.6 Although the two methods produce markedly different average distances (NTS GB: 10,967 kilometres; "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" UK: 12,536 kilometres), they produce quite similar modal shares - e.g. the modal share for passenger cars are: NTS GB - 85.9%; "EU Energy and Transport in Figures" UK - 86.5% (NB: in both cases, the modal shares are calculated excluding walking and cycling, for consistency with the figures in the relevant table of the EU publication). Therefore, the modal shares for Scotland, calculated from the NTS results, should be comparable to the modal shares for the EU countries.

4.11 International air passengers (traffic between EU countries) : the figures for Scotland and the UK are both for 2000. The Scottish figure is taken from Table 9.3 of this publication, and is the number of passengers to and from most other EC countries at the main Scottish international airports (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick). These figures will not include passengers on "charter only" routes in cases where fewer than 5,000 passengers were carried between an airport and a particular country, nor passengers to and from EC countries at other airports in Scotland, so they will underestimate slightly the total number of international passengers between Scotland and EC countries. The UK figure is taken from Table 7.7 of "TSGB 2002".

4.12 Road fatalities : the figures for Scotland and GB are both for 2000. The Scottish figure is taken from Table 7.4 of this publication, and the GB figure is taken from Table 4.15 of "TSGB 2002".

4.13 Freight transport - modal shares

4.13.1 The figures for Scotland and GB are both for 2000. The Scottish figures are derived from the tonne-kilometre figures for each mode of transport which appear in Table H2(b) of this publication. The GB figures are derived from the tonne-kilometre figures for each mode of transport which appear in Table 1.14 of "TSGB 2002" (road, rail and pipeline) and Table 3.2 of DfT's "Waterborne Freight in the UK: 2001" bulletin (inland waterways).

4.13.2 The figures for Scotland are based on the tonnage of goods lifted in Scotland and the distance on which they are carried on that journey, be it within Scotland or from Scotland to (say) England. For example, the tonne-kilometres for goods taken from (say) Edinburgh to London would be calculated using the full distance between Edinburgh and London (over 660 kilometres) not just the distance between Edinburgh and the border (under 160 kilometres). Therefore, the figures do not represent the modal shares for freight transport within Scotland: they include tonne-kilometres outwith Scotland on journeys which started in Scotland, and they exclude tonne-kilometres within Scotland on journeys which started elsewhere. Journeys to destinations outwith Scotland account for about 45% of the total tonne-kilometres for road freight lifted in Scotland (some of which would, of course, be for the part of the journey which was within Scotland). The equivalent figure for rail is 85%; for pipeline it is only a small percentage, because "cross-border" traffic accounts for only a small proportion of the total tonnage carried out of Scotland by pipeline.

« Previous | Contents | Next »