The strategic supply-driven provision of transport infrastructure in many Asian and Pacific countries has significantly contributed to their economic growth and integration into the world economy.

Although the focus herein is on investment in road and railway infrastructure, it should be noted, that seaport and airport infrastructure stocks have contributed significantly to transport infrastructure growth in the region (ESCAP, 2005a).

The density of roads per unit of surface area, measured in kilometres of road per 1,000 square kilometres of land, is an indicator of geographical accessibility. In Asia and the Pacific, there is an extremely wide range of road density, from 33 km per 1,000 square km in Kazakhstan to 4,627 km per 1,000 square km in Singapore. In fact, Singapore, along with Macao, China, and Hong Kong, China, is among those with the highest road density in the world (table 18.1).

Among the countries with the largest increase in the road network, Bhutan, Nepal, Viet Nam and Lao PDR more than doubled their road density between 1990 and 2004, Republic of Korea and India also almost doubled their road networks between the 1990s and 2000s, as shown in figure 18.1.

In addition to increasing the road length, countries have also invested in road widening schemes that have significantly contributed to the total lane width. According to some estimates, about US$ 170 billion was invested in improving Asian roads in 2006, accounting for roughly two thirds of all transport infrastructure expenditures in the region.

Yet, road densities and effective network access levels in most Asian countries continue to be much lower than in European or North American countries of similar geography and settlement patterns. This implies a great need for further transport infrastructure development in the region.

The need for such investments is also reflected in the share of paved roads in all roads. Although this share has increased considerably in many countries during the last decade, it continues to be less than one quarter in some, such as Cambodia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea, according to the latest available estimates.

Figure 18.1 Index of change in road density in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-latest available data

Figure 18.2 shows the percentage of paved roads for 1990 and latest available data. All roads in Macao, China, Hong Kong, China and Singapore are paved. What is notable is that Thailand experienced one of the highest increases in the entire region, from 55 per cent in 1990 to 98 per cent in 2000. The percentage of roads paved also increased, at varying rates, in Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

While Brunei Darussalam more than doubled the percentage of roads paved, from 31 per cent in 1990 to 78 per cent by 2004, this share increased in Afghanistan to 24 per cent from only 13 per cent in 1990. Kazakhstan also registered a sizeable rise in the proportion of roads paved, from 55 per cent at the beginning of the 1990s to 93 per cent by the mid-2000s.

Although railway density in Asia and the Pacific remains low in comparison with more advanced regions, it is the highest among the developing regions of the world. According to 2005 figures, Asia and the Pacific has a railway density of 7 km per 1,000 square km, which places it ahead of Africa, at 4, and Latin America and the Caribbean, at 6. North America and Europe, on the other hand, have railway densities twice as high and six times as high, respectively, as that of Asia and the Pacific.

Figure 18.2 Proportion of paved roads to total roads in Asia and the Pacific, 1990-latest available data

According to ESCAP (2005a), barely half of the countries in the region have constructed a sizeable intercity railway system. Moreover, in the recent years, only a handful of Asian developing countries have invested extensively in railways. Almost all the increase in the region's railway length is attributed to the improvement in China and, to a lesser extent, the Republic of Korea.

Japan, however, continues to have, by far, the highest railway density in the region, at 55 km per 1,000 square km, followed by the Republic of Korea, at 34 km per 1,000 square km, and some Central Asian countries, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, which have densities of about 20 km per 1,000 square km. Still, there are some signs of a possible revival of railways across the region, which would have substantial environmental and safety benefits.

Figure 18.3 Railway density of the regions of the world, 2005

Motorization rates, measured as the number of passenger cars in use per 1,000 people, have increased appreciably in the Asian and Pacific region. While this has improved mobility, contributing to economic growth, it has also led to an increase in pollution levels and traffic accidents.

Brunei Darussalam can lay claim to the highest number of passenger cars per 1,000 people, estimated at 618 in 2004. It also recorded the largest increase in the entire region since 1990, when it had 416 passenger cars per 1,000 people. Motorization rates also rose considerably in Japan and the Republic of Korea, to 438 and 223, respectively, an increase of more than 150 cars per 1,000 people.

Populous countries, on the other hand, have low motorization rates. China and India, for example, have rates of just 13 and 8 per 1,000 people, respectively. Some ASEAN countries also have low motorization rates. Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have less than 20 passenger cars per 1,000 people.

It should be noted, however, that personal mobility levels in many South and South-East Asian countries are considerably higher than the relative number of cars in use suggests, as two- and three-wheelers constitute more than two thirds of all motorized vehicles in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, among other developing countries.

Figure 18.4 Number of passenger cars in selected Asian and Pacific countries/areas, 1990 and 2004

As motorization rates continue to rise globally, leading to higher vehicle densities, road traffic accidents have increased as well. Worldwide, road accidents kill an estimated 1.2 million people and injure or disable up to 50 million people per year. Most road traffic deaths occur in poor countries, where these types of accidents rank as a leading cause of death.

The upgrading of the road network in Asia and the Pacific has been followed by rapidly increasing traffic levels, which have contributed to one of the worst road safety records in the world. More than half of the world's traffic fatalities occur in Asia and the Pacific, even though only one in five of the world's motor vehicles are registered in this region.

Roughly half of all road fatalities in the Asian and Pacific region occur in China and India, although, in terms of the ratio to total number of deaths, they are considerably lower than in other parts of the region. In China 1,205 out of every 100,000 deaths was due to traffic accidents in 2003, up from 592 in the early 1990s. In India, 887 out of every 100,000 deaths in 2003, compared to 618 in 1990, were traffic-related.

Malaysia ranks highest in the region, with traffic accidents causing 5,669 out of every 100,000 deaths. In Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Korea, there are 2,837 and 2,780 traffic fatalities per 100,000 deaths, respectively. In Viet Nam and Thailand, on the other hand, the contribution of traffic accidents to all deaths was slightly lower in 2003. It is noteworthy, however, that Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Korea experienced the largest reduction in the share of traffic fatalities in all deaths between 1990 and 2003, while Malaysia, Viet Nam and Thailand are among the countries with the highest increase in this share during the same period, as shown in figure 18.5.

Figure 18.5 Estimated number of traffic fatalities in Asia and the Pacific, 1990 and 2003