Caribbean small states: Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Caribbean small states' container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) fell 9.1% on 2022 (from 2.56 million to 2.33 million).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +2.3% and a typical year strayed about 10.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.1% in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 14 values

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

• Algeria — 1.83 million (2024)
• Bahrain — 409,382 (2024)
• Djibouti — 1.29 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 8.58 million (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2.92 million (2024)
• Iraq — 932,729 (2019)
• Israel — 3.06 million (2024)
• Jordan — 824,199 (2024)
• Kuwait — 863,618 (2020)
• Lebanon

More infrastructure data for Caribbean small states

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 3.41 million (2021)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 109.13 (2021)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 573,277 (2021)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 18.32 (2021)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 137,316 (2021)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 2.46 million (2021)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 91.48 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$215.92 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

2.33 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 11.78% from 2.08 million in 2010 (0.86% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.58 million in 2021 and the lowest 1.76 million in 2017.

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

In 2023, Caribbean small states' container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) fell 9.1% on 2022 (from 2.56 million to 2.33 million). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +2.3% and a typical year strayed about 10.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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