Benin: Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Benin's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 58.8% on 2018 (from 321,750 to 510,896).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2018), the average change was +1.1% and a typical year strayed about 9.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 6.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 58.8% in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.5% in 2015. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2019, Benin had the 3rd highest value of the 32 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Benin in the 2019 ranking

• Iraq — 1st of 32: 932,729
• Madagascar — 3rd of 32: 199,712
• Guam — 4th of 32: 190,200
• Seychelles — 5th of 32: 154,423

What this measures

Port container traffic measures the flow of containers from land to sea transport modes, and vice versa, in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a standard-size container. Data refer to coastal shipping as well as international journeys. Transshipment traffic is counted as two lifts at the intermediate port (once to off-load and again as an outbound lift) and includes empty units.

Limitations: Measures of port container traffic, much of it commodities of medium to high value added, give some indication of economic growth in a country. But when traffic is merely transshipment, much of the economic benefit goes to the terminal operator and ancillary services for ships and containers rather than to the country more broadly. In transshipment centers empty containers may account for as much as 40 percent of traffic. Data cover coastal shipping as well as international journeys. Transshipment traffic is counted as two lifts at the intermediate port (once to off-load and again as an outbound lift) and includes empty units.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 12 values

Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) in nearby economies

• Angola — 709,221 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 89,382 (2024)
• Cameroon — 350,000 (2024)
• Comoros — 54,359 (2019)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 42,211 (2019)
• Congo, Rep. — 1.05 million (2024)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 1.8 million (2024)
• Equatorial Guinea — 13,851 (2019)
• Gabon — 180,878 (2024)
• Gambia, The

More infrastructure data for Benin

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1,350 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.00933 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 18.21 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 125.94 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 10 (2016)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 0.00644 (2016)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 899 (2016)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$14.02 million (2023)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 3.04% (2023)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Benin's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)?

510,896 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is up 70.3% from 300,000 in 2008 (4.96% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 510,896 in 2019 and the lowest 272,820 in 2009.

How does Benin rank?

3rd highest of 32 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) unusual for Benin?

In 2019, Benin's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 58.8% on 2018 (from 321,750 to 510,896). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2018), the average change was +1.1% and a typical year strayed about 9.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 6.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IS.SHP.GOOD.TU, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), uri: http://unctad.org/en/Pages/statistics.aspx Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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