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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Cuba's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 7.7% on 2022 (from 261,080 to 281,140).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 15.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 43.3% in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 20.8% in 2020. 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 9% 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 2023, Cuba had the 7th highest value of the 12 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 Cuba in the 2023 ranking

• Libya — 4th of 12: 465,168
• Iceland — 5th of 12: 425,000
• Guinea — 6th of 12: 286,286
• Albania — 8th of 12: 184,017
• Barbados — 9th of 12: 101,300
• Brunei Darussalam — 10th of 12: 99,000

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

• Antigua and Barbuda — 28,000 (2024)
• Argentina — 1.47 million (2024)
• Aruba — 64,800 (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 1.54 million (2024)
• Barbados — 101,300 (2023)
• Belize — 21,279 (2023)
• Brazil — 13.89 million (2024)
• British Virgin Islands — 45,956 (2019)
• Cayman Islands — 46,658 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Cuba

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1.59 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 14.49 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1,694 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 5.16 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 136,998 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 8.01 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 72.93 (2024)
• Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 19 (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 3.78% (2024)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count

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 Cuba's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)?

281,140 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 23.12% from 228,346 in 2010 (1.61% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 349,722 in 2018 and the lowest 228,346 in 2010.

How does Cuba rank?

7th highest of 12 economies with data for 2023.

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

In 2023, Cuba's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 7.7% on 2022 (from 261,080 to 281,140). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2022), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 15.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

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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