IDA total: Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 35.04% from 22.98 million in 2014 (6.19% a year on average, compounded). Since 2010 it is up 73.95% from 17.84 million in 2010 (6.34% a year on average, compounded).

What the numbers say

In 2019, IDA total's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 3% on 2018 (from 30.13 million to 31.03 million).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +6.8% and a typical year strayed about 2.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 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 10.1% in 2011. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.47 million a year. A straight line explains 98% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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 10 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 IDA total

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 22 million (2025)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 1.1 (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1.06 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 5,784 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 81.07 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.73 billion (2025)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 87.1 (2025)
• Scientific and technical journal articles — 72,990 (2023)
• ICT goods imports (% total goods imports) — 2.75% (2023)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

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

31.03 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 73.95% from 17.84 million in 2010 (6.34% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 31.03 million in 2019 and the lowest 17.84 million in 2010.

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

In 2019, IDA total's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 3% on 2018 (from 30.13 million to 31.03 million). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +6.8% and a typical year strayed about 2.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.