OECD Countries Spend 1% of GDP on Road and Rail Infrastructure on Average

The latest update of annual transport infrastructure investment and maintenance data collected by the International Transport Forum at the OECD shows that for the last 15 years:

• Investment in inland transport infrastructure has remained constant at 0.8% of GDP for the OECD (excluding Japan) and the volume of investment has grown 30%; 
• In North America and Western Europe the GDP shares for investments in road, rail and inland waterways are constant, whereas in many developing and transition economies transport investment as a share of GDP is increasing; 
• Western European economies have invested increasingly in rail while in Central and Eastern European countries the focus is on roads; 
• While record investment levels were reached in Central and Eastern European countries in 2009, the latest data show decline for the first time (-11% in real terms in 2010).