Ranked: The World’s 20 Busiest Ports

Ranked: The World’s 20 Busiest Ports

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Seaports are the backbone of global trade, moving the containers that carry everything from electronics to clothing to industrial goods.

In 2024, the world’s ports processed the equivalent of 743 million shipping containers, and more than half of that traffic passed through just 20 ports.

This graphic ranks the world’s busiest container ports by total throughput, using the most recent data available from the Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports 2025 database. Throughput is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, the standard unit for global shipping and logistics.

China: The World’s Port Capital

China alone accounts for over 40% of global container traffic, reflecting its central role in global manufacturing and export supply chains. Of the six busiest ports worldwide, five are in China, led by the Port of Shanghai.

Shanghai processed over 51.5 million TEUs in 2024, making it by far the busiest port worldwide. Singapore, the runner-up, processed more than 10 million fewer TEUs that year.

The data table below showcases the world’s 20 busiest ports and their 2024 throughput, reflecting the dominance of Chinese ports.

Rank	Port	Country	TEU 2024 (Millions)
1	Shanghai	China	51.5
2	Singapore	Singapore	41.1
3	Ningbo-Zhoushan	China	39.3
4	Shenzhen	China	33.4
5	Qingdao	China	30.9
6	Guangzhou	China	26.1
7	Busan	South Korea	24.4
8	Tianjin	China	23.3
9	Jebel Ali (Dubai)	UAE	15.5
10	Port Klang	Malaysia	14.6
11	Rotterdam	Netherlands	13.8
12	Hong Kong	China	13.7
13	Antwerp-Bruges	Belgium	13.5
14	Xiamen	China	12.3
15	Tanjung Pelepas	Malaysia	12.3
16	Los Angeles	United States	10.3
17	Tanger-Med	Morocco	10.2
18	Taicang (Suzhou)	China	9.7
19	Long Beach	United States	9.6
20	Laem Chabang	Thailand	9.6

China’s port strength extends well beyond Shanghai. Ningbo-Zhoushan (39.3 million), Shenzhen (33.4 million), Qingdao (30.9 million), and Guangzhou (26.1 million) are all busier than any port outside China except Singapore.

Their prominence today reflects not only China’s economic ascent into its role as “the factory floor of the world,” but also historical tradition. Between 1757 and 1842, Guangzhou served as the sole port where Western merchants could trade with China, back when the city was still known as Canton.

Beyond China: Asia’s Hegemony

China’s ports may dominate the rankings, but they are not the only major shipping hubs in Asia. The continent is home to three-quarters of the world’s busiest ports, including Singapore, Busan (24.4 million), and Port Klang (14.6 million).

Many of these ports lie at strategic chokepoints. Singapore and Port Klang both sit on the Strait of Malacca, the busiest shipping strait in the world, through which roughly 25-30% of globally traded goods travel.

Further west, Jebel Ali in Dubai (15.5 million) is the busiest port outside East Asia. Located in the Persian Gulf, it is the world’s largest manmade harbor and is owned by Emirati logistics giant DP World.

The West’s Smaller Ports

Europe and the U.S. remain major trading hubs, but their busiest ports now trail far behind Asia’s largest container gateways. Rotterdam (13.8 million) is the busiest non-Asian port worldwide, followed by nearby Antwerp-Bruges (13.5 million).

The busiest U.S. ports are both located on California’s west coast. The Port of Los Angeles (10.3 million), promoted as “America’s Port,” ranks 16th worldwide by throughput, while neighboring Long Beach (9.5 million) ranks 19th.

Notably, only one African port appears in the world’s top 20: Morocco’s Tanger-Med (10.2 million). No ports from Central or South America made the ranking.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

For more on the centers of global logistics, check out The Chokepoints of Global Shipping on Voronoi.Use This Visualization

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