China's motorway network surpasses the USA

[jbi]

In 2011 china added 11,000km of motorway to it's network surpassing the USA interstate system and making it the largest in the world.

Historical Development of Expressway Length in China

Year Distance(km)
01-01-1988 0
01-01-1989 147
01-01-1990 271
01-01-1991 522
01-01-1992 574
01-01-1993 652
01-01-1994 1145
01-01-1995 1603
01-01-1996 2141
01-01-1997 3422
01-01-1998 4771
01-01-1999 8733
01-01-2000 11605
01-01-2001 16314
01-01-2002 19453
01-01-2003 25200
01-01-2004 29800
01-01-2005 34300
01-01-2006 41005
01-01-2007 45339
01-01-2008 53913
01-01-2009 60346
01-01-2010 65065
01-01-2011 74000
01-01-2012 85000



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressways_of_China

Seems amazing to me when you consider just 15 years ago their network was smaller than the UK's for an area comparable to the USA.

[Laurel Green]

Their car ownership must have grown with it as well, for (I think) they have the record for longest traffic-jam.

ETA: Link.

Edited by Laurel Green on Monday 16th January 12:33