| Code | IS.ROD.PAVE.ZS |
| Indicator Name | Roads, paved (% of total roads) |
| Long definition | Paved roads are those surfaced with crushed stone (macadam) and hydrocarbon binder or bituminized agents, with concrete, or with cobblestones, as a percentage of all the country's roads, measured in length. |
| Source | International Road Federation, World Road Statistics and electronic files, except where noted. |
| Topic | Infrastructure: Transportation |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Aggregation method | Median |
| Statistical concept and methodology | The road network includes "all roads in a given area". It covers motorways, highways, main or national roads, secondary or regional roads, and all other roads in a country. Motorways are kilometer length of roads, specifically designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which: (a) is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other, either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic, or exceptionally by other means; (b) does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; (c) is especially sign-posted as a motorway and is reserved for specific categories of road motor vehicles. Entry and exit lanes of motorways are included irrespectively of the location of the signposts. Urban motorways are also included.
Highways, main or national roads are kilometer length of A-level roads. A-level roads are roads outside urban areas that are not motorways but belong to the top-level road network. A-level roads are characterized by a comparatively high quality standard, either non-divided roads with oncoming traffic or similar to motorways. In most countries, these roads are financed by the federal or national government. Secondary or regional roads are kilometer length of roads that are the main feeder routes into, and provide the main links between highways, main or national roads.
Other roads are urbanlength of roads within the boundaries of a built-up area, which is an area with entries and exits especially sign-posted as such. Other rural roads are all remaining roads in a country not included in above mentioned categories.
Paved roads are those surfaced with crushed stone (macadam) and hydrocarbon binder or bituminized agents, with concrete, or with cobblestones, as a percentage of all the country's roads, measured in length. |
| Development relevance | According to OECD roads are lines of communication (travelled way) using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels. The United States has the largest network of roads in the world. People use roads either in individual cars, or in mass transit by bus or coach. Total road network includes motorways, highways, and main or national roads, secondary or regional roads, and all other roads in a country.
Transport infrastructure - highways, railways, ports and waterways, and airports and air traffic control systems - and the services that flow from it are crucial to the activities of households, producers, and governments. Because performance indicators vary widely by transport mode and focus (whether physical infrastructure or the services flowing from that infrastructure), highly specialized and carefully specified indicators are required to measure a country's transport infrastructure.
The road transport industry a vital engine of global socio-economic growth. It is of vital importance for economic development, creating direct and indirect employment, supporting tourism and local businesses. Economic growth, technological change, market liberalization, and oil prices affect road transport throughout the world.
While sustainable mobility is recognized as one of the keys to social and economic development, roads are becoming increasingly congested, and heavy road transportation, especially in congested urban areas, is causing negative environmental impacts. IRF estimates that every six seconds someone is killed or seriously injured on the world's roads. Nine in ten of these casualties occur in low-income and middle-income countries, where traffic levels are rapidly increasing. This is a human, economic and environmental disaster that is preventable. |
| Limitations and exceptions | National road associations are the primary source of International Road Federation (IRF) data. In countries where a national road association is lacking or does not respond, other agencies are contacted, such as road directorates, ministries of transport or public works, or central statistical offices. As a result, definitions and data collection methods and quality differ, and the compiled data are of uneven quality. Moreover, the quality of transport service (reliability, transit time, and condition of goods delivered) is rarely measured, though it may be as important as quantity in assessing an economy's transport system.
Data for transport sectors are not always internationally comparable. Unlike for demographic statistics, national income accounts, and international trade data, the collection of infrastructure data has not been "internationalized." |
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