Countries with the most airports

As the year comes to and end it got me thinking about air travel and people moving around from city to city. Then I thought I wonder how many airports there are in the world and which country has the most. 

My research shows there are over 40,000 airports globally and the United States leads the list by a huge margin, followed by Brazil, and then our very own country  Australia,  finishing of with Mexico, and Canada.

The top 20 list is dominated by large landmass countries or those with extensive regional air travel, including Russia, Argentina, Colombia, China, and South Africa, though precise numbers aren't exactly correct as they varied slightly from site to site.

01. United States: ~ 15,873 

02. Brazil: ~ 4,919

03. Australia: ~ 2,180 

04. Mexico: ~ 1,485 

05. Canada: ~ 1,425

06. United Kingdom: ~ 1,043

07. Russia: ~ 904

08. Germany: ~ 838

09. Argentina: ~ 756

10. France: ~ 689

11. Colombia: ~ 662

12. Italy: ~ 636

13. South Africa: ~ 575

14. Papua New Guinea: ~ 535

15. China: ~ 531

16. Indonesia: ~ 513

17. Venezuela: ~ 502

18. Chile: ~ 374

19. Kenya: ~ 370

20. Spain: ~ 363

For us here in Australia here's a breakdown by region, based on data I could find. 

• Queensland (QLD): 737
• New South Wales (NSW): 577
• Western Australia (WA): 525
• Northern Territory (NT): 335
• South Australia (SA): 279
• Victoria (VIC): 235
• Tasmania (TAS): 77
• Australian Capital Territory (ACT): 9 

The vast majority are small, unpaved airstrips crucial for remote communities, not just large commercial hubs.