How Many Bikes Are There In The World?
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many people became worried about using public transport. This anxiety led more people to ride bicycles, leading to a boom in bike riding and sales in 2020.
There are now over 1 billion bicycles worldwide. Since the world population is approaching 8 billion, there are approximately 8 people to every bike. Approximately half of all bikes are in China. On average, 4 bikes are made every second, and 0.5 are sold.
The global bicycle industry is expected to grow by 8.2% annually from 2022 to 2030. Between 2020 and 2021, bicycle spending went up from 6 to $8.2 billion. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of e-bikes worldwide is predicted to increase from 200 to 300 million.
Number Of Bikes In The World And Per Country.
Of the 1 billion bicycles in the world, 830 million are in the 10 top bicycle-owning states, and the rest of the world has around 170 million. According to the last available statistic, the top 10 bike-owning nations were: China(450M), the USA (100M), Japan(72M), Germany(62M), Brazil(40M), India (30.8M), Italy and Netherlands (23M), Indonesia (22.3M) and the UK (20M)
Each year, every 19th person on earth buys a bike. In 2021, 17-20 million bicycles were sold. On average, around 364,000 bikes are produced daily worldwide; this translates to 15,000 bikes per hour, or 253 bikes every minute. Of this, 87% are produced daily in India, Taiwan, Japan, China, and the EU.
In 2004, China alone produced 58% of the global market. By 2005, China had increased its bike production by 16%. In 2005 China’s bike production, including e-bikes, hit a record of 80,430,000 units, giving China a 60% share of the Global bike-producing market. 65% of this was exported. 86% of all bikes sold in the US are Chinese imports. In 2021, China made 76,300,000 bikes in 2021.
Just under half of all the world’s bicycles, around 0.45 billion, are in China. There are 6.5 million registered cyclists in Shanghai and 7 million in Beijing, and cars are generally outnumbered by bikes by a factor of 10 to 1 in most parts of China. After China, the most bikes can be found in the USA, over 100 million, and then in Japan, around 72 million.
The US population is over 330 million. With 100 million bicycles and 7000 bike shops, there are roughly 3 people to every bike. However, there are only 52 million cyclists, meaning that there are roughly 2 bikes to every cyclist; this implies that there are either many unused bikes or that many cyclists use more than one bike.
New York seems to be experiencing a renaissance in cycling. Around 900,000 New Yorkers cycle daily due to the 116% increase in cycling between 2008 – 2018. Around 510,000 rides are made daily in New York, 3 times more than 15 years ago. 1 out 3 New Yorker adults (around 2 million) now cycle once annually.
6.3% of all cyclists in the US are in Portland, which has the largest cycling population in North America. The city has provided cyclists with 236 miles of cycling lanes.
Approximately 20 million bicycles and e-bikes were sold in Europe in 2019. Continental Western Europe has the most bikes per capita and the largest cycling population as a percentage of the total population. Even if 45% of all bikes are found in China and only 2.3% in the Netherlands, the Dutch still have more bikes per capita.
Compared to China’s population of approximately 1.4 billion, the tiny Netherlands has only around 17 million. However, with around 23 million bikes, there are more bikes than people. The Dutch, on average, have 1.3 bicycles for every person.
Comparing The Number Of Bikes To Cars
In 1950 the number of bikes worldwide was around 11 million compared to about 8 million cars. The production rate of cars accelerated until in 1965, car and bike production was equally matched at 20 million.
Now the number of cars is 1.5X more than the number of bikes (1bilion bikes vs. 1.5 billion cars). The average global rate of car production has now slowed compared to bikes.
The rate of bicycle production is now 2.5X higher than that of cars. In 2004 over 100 million bikes were produced compared to 60 million cars. At this rate, the number of bikes may overtake cars by 2036.
The big exception to the average global trend is China, where car sales are steadily growing. In 1995 bike trips accounted for 1/3 of all journeys compared to only around 1/4 today. However, bike sales are still larger than car sales. Compared to the 14 million cars sold yearly, over 20 million e-bikes alone are sold in China annually.
Between 2000 and 2005, 2 – 2.5 million cars were sold in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK every year. After a brief increase, they went steadily down. Germans purchase the most bicycles in the EU at around 4 million per year. The UK buys around 3.5 million. France and Italy buy about the same number of cars as bikes, although bike sales are increasing in both countries.
Although the US still has the highest per capita car ownership (5 cars for every 4 Americans), the car market has declined in recent years. In 1999, about 10 million cars were sold, sales in recent years dropped to 7 million. Bicycle sales have held steady since the 1990s, between 15 -20 million.
In the German city of Munster, 40% of the total population rides a bike, while only 36% uses a car. In the Netherlands, bicycles are used for 22% of all work commutes, 18% for getting to school, and 14% for all shopping trips.
Conclusion
There are now roughly 1 billion bicycles in the world. China has more bikes than any other country, with about 450 million. Only 10 countries have 83% of all bicycles, while China alone owns 45%
The Netherlands only has 2.3% of the global total but has the most bikes per capita. By 2036, there are estimated to be more bikes in the world than there are cars.
