Farnborough, England, July 18 (Reuters) - Boeing maintained its forecast of strong global demand for new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years, in a market outlook issued by the U.S. aircraft manufacturer in England on Saturday ahead of the Farnborough Airshow.

The company's forecast came in almost exactly the same as its 2025 forecast. Boeing predicted that global industry deliveries would reach 43,625 new passenger and freighter aircraft worldwide from 2026 to 2045 - including 33,545 single-aisle aircraft, 7,715 wide-body aircraft, 930 freighter aircraft and 1,435 regional aircraft.

Airbus, Boeing's European rival, this month lowered its forecast by one percent to 42,060 new aircraft, citing the Iran war and trade tensions.

Boeing expects air passenger traffic to grow by about 2.3 percent this year, less than half the 5.3 percent growth rate recorded last year. It anticipates growth to rebound to between 6 and 7 percent in 2027, and to between 5 and 6 percent in 2028.

“Our projections indicate that global passenger traffic will reach the level it was expected to reach by the end of 2028,” Darren Holst, vice president of commercial marketing at Boeing, told reporters. He described the current slowdown as different from the multi-year demand shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boeing expects passenger numbers to grow 4 percent annually over the next 20 years, with cargo traffic rising 3.7 percent, the aircraft fleet expanding 3 percent, and the global economy growing 2.5 percent.

China is expected to account for 21 percent of deliveries, followed by Eurasia at 20 percent, North America and South/Southeast Asia at 19 percent each, the Middle East and Africa at 10 percent, Latin America at six percent, and Oceania/Northeast Asia at five percent.

Holst said that long-term demand forecasts remain supported by trade, tourism, immigration and the expansion of airline networks.