Globally, carriage by sea is said to haul 90% of Global trade in commodities ranging from Dry bulk, Break bulk ,Liquid bulk ,Containerized goods etc. Therefore, sea ports as a transport node, play a critical role in the facilitation of seaborne trade. According to World Shipping Council, the leading voice in Liner Shipping, these are the Top 50 container ports in the world, the hubs that keep global trade moving.
| Rank | Port | Country | Volume 2024 (Million TEU) | Volume 2023 (Million TEU) | Volume 2022 (Million TEU) | Volume 2021 (Million TEU) | Website |
| 1 | Shanghai | China | 51,51 | 49,16 | 47,30 | 47,03 | https://en.portshanghai.com.cn/ |
| 2 | Singapore | Singapore | 41,12 | 39,01 | 37,29 | 37,49 | https://www.singaporepsa.com/ |
| 3 | Ningbo-Zhoushan | China | 39,30 | 35,30 | 33,35 | 31,07 | https://www.nbport.com.cn/gfww/ |
| 4 | Shenzhen | China | 33,40 | 29,88 | 30,04 | 28,77 | https://jtys.sz.gov.cn/ |
| 5 | Qingdao | China | 30,87 | 28,77 | 25,67 | 23,71 | https://www.qingdao-port.com/portal/en |
| 6 | Guangzhou Harbor | China | 26,07 | 25,41 | 24,86 | 24,18 | https://www.gzport.com/foreground/index.html |
| 7 | Busan | South Korea | 24,40 | 23,04 | 22,08 | 22,71 | https://www.busanpa.com/kor/Main.do |
| 8 | Tianjin | China | 23,29 | 20,02 | 19,83 | 20,20 | https://www.tianjinportdev.com/html/index.php |
| 9 | Jebel Ali, Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 15,54 | 14,47 | 13,97 | 13,74 | https://www.dpworld.com/en |
| 10 | Port Klang | Malaysia | 14,64 | 14,06 | 13,22 | 13,72 | https://www.pka.gov.my/index.php/en/ |
| 11 | Rotterdam | The Netherlands | 13,82 | 13,45 | 14,46 | 15,30 | https://www.portofrotterdam.com/nl |
| 12 | Hong Kong | China | 13,69 | 14,40 | 16,69 | 17,80 | https://www.mardep.gov.hk/en/home/index.html |
| 13 | Antwerp | Belgium | 13,50 | 12,50 | 13,50 | 12,02 | https://www.portofantwerpbruges.com/en |
| 14 | Xiamen | China | 12,26 | 12,55 | 12,43 | 12,05 | https://jtyst.fujian.gov.cn/ |
| 15 | Tanjung Pelepas | Malaysia | 12,25 | 10,48 | 10,51 | 11,20 | https://www.ptp.com.my/ |
| 16 | Los Angeles | USA | 10,30 | 8,63 | 9,91 | 10,68 | https://www.portoflosangeles.org/ |
| 17 | Tanger Med | Morocco | 10,24 | 8,61 | 7,60 | 7,17 | https://www.tangermedport.com/en/ |
| 18 | Suzhou | China | 9,67 | 8,04 | 8,03 | 7,04 | http://www.tcport.gov.cn/ |
| 19 | Long Beach | USA | 9,65 | 8,02 | 9,13 | 9,38 | https://polb.com/ |
| 20 | Laem Chabang | Thailand | 9,55 | 8,87 | 8,74 | 8,34 | |
| 21 | Kaohsiung | China | 9,23 | 8,83 | 9,49 | 9,86 | https://www.twport.com.tw/ |
| 22 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | 9,16 | 7,40 | 7,91 | 8,00 | https://www.vpa.org.vn/ |
| 23 | Guangxi Beibu | China | 9,02 | 8,00 | 7,02 | 6,01 | http://www.bbwgw.com/ |
| 24 | New York-New Jersey | USA | 8,70 | 7,81 | 9,49 | 9,00 | https://www.panynj.gov/port-authority/en/index.html |
| 25 | Mundra | India | 8,50 | 7,40 | 6,50 | 6,66 | https://www.adaniports.com/ |
| 26 | Hamburg | Germany | 7,80 | 7,70 | 8,26 | 8,72 | https://www.hafen-hamburg.de/ |
| 27 | Tanjung Priok | Indonesia | 7,80 | 7,29 | 7,23 | 6,85 | https://pelindo.co.id/ |
| 28 | Colombo | Sri Lanka | 7,79 | 6,94 | 6,86 | 7,30 | https://www.slpa.lk/ |
| 29 | Hai Phong | Vietnam | 7,15 | 6,34 | 5,63 | 5,70 | https://www.haiphongport.com.vn/ |
| 30 | Cai Mep | Vietnam | 7,08 | 5,48 | 5,59 | 5,39 | |
| 31 | Jawarharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) | India | 7,05 | 6,35 | 5,96 | 5,63 | https://www.jnport.gov.in/ |
| 32 | Rizhao | China | 6,71 | 6,26 | 5,80 | 5,17 | http://www.rzportjurong.com/en/ |
| 33 | Lianyungang | China | 6,69 | 6,14 | 5,57 | 5,09 | http://www.lyg.gov.cn/ |
| 34 | Yingkou | China | 5,56 | 5,33 | 5,00 | 5,21 | http://www.ykdz.gov.cn |
| 35 | Savannah | USA | 5,55 | 4,93 | 5,89 | 5,61 | https://gaports.com/ |
| 36 | Manila | Philippines | 5,50 | 5,21 | 5,47 | 4,98 | https://www.ppa.com.ph/ |
| 37 | Santos | Brazil | 5,48 | 4,78 | 4,99 | 4,83 | https://www.portodesantos.com.br/ |
| 38 | Valencia | Spain | 5,48 | 4,80 | 5,05 | 5,60 | https://www.valenciaport.com/ |
| 39 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | 5,42 | 4,91 | 4,33 | 3,44 | https://www.adports.ae/ |
| 40 | Dalian | China | 5,40 | 5,03 | 4,46 | 3,67 | |
| 41 | Colon | Panama | 5,40 | 4,87 | 5,10 | 4,92 | https://www.amp.gob.pa/ |
| 42 | Yantai | China | 5,09 | 4,63 | 4,12 | 3,65 | https://www.yantaiport.com.cn |
| 43 | Algeciras | Spain | 4,71 | 4,73 | 4,77 | 4,80 | https://www.apba.es/ |
| 44 | Piraeus | Greece | 4,70 | 5,10 | 5,00 | 5,31 | https://www.pct.com.gr/ |
| 45 | Tokyo | Japan | 4,70 | 4,57 | 4,43 | 4,33 | https://www.kouwan.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/ |
| 46 | Bremen/Bremerhaven | Germany | 4,45 | 4,18 | 4,57 | 5,02 | https://www.bremenports.de/ |
| 47 | Tanjung Perak | Indonesia | 4,30 | 4,10 | 3,97 | 3,90 | https://www.pelindo.co.id/ |
| 48 | Houston | USA | 4,14 | 3,82 | 3,97 | 3,45 | https://porthouston.com |
| 49 | Dongguan | China | 4,02 | 3,90 | 3,41 | 3,40 | https://www.dgportgroup.com |
| 50 | Balboa | Panama | 4,01 | 3,37 | 3,35 | 3,56 |
Ranking of East African Ports
Even though none of the Ports in East Africa feature in the Top 50 Ranking, the Port of Mombasa attained significant growth in container traffic reaching a total of 2.11 million TEUs in 2025, against 2.00 million TEUs in 2024, representing a growth rate of 109,797 TEUs, or 5.5 percent.
Contact us today for any enquiries on Container Shipping to/from these top ports to/from the Ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam
Email: solutions@goliath-africa.com
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