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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Maldives' container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 31% on 2018 (from 82,253 to 107,728).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2018), the average change was +5.9% and a typical year strayed about 14.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above 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 45.4% in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.4% in 2010. 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 5,291 a year. A straight line explains 79% 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

In 2019, Maldives had the 8th 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 Maldives in the 2019 ranking

• Seychelles — 5th of 32: 154,423
• Fiji — 6th of 32: 145,782
• Solomon Islands — 7th of 32: 128,036
• Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 9th of 32: 92,238
• Liberia — 10th of 32: 91,454
• Mauritania — 11th of 32: 84,458

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 13 values

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

• Bangladesh — 3.35 million (2024)
• India — 23.9 million (2024)
• Sri Lanka — 7.78 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Maldives

• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 781,866 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 148.14 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 11,998 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 2.27 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 33,484 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 1.41 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 29.46 (2023)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 85.24% (2024)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 2.9% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

107,728 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is up 125.83% from 47,703 in 2007 (7.02% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 107,728 in 2019 and the lowest 47,703 in 2007.

How does Maldives rank?

8th highest of 32 economies with data for 2019.

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

In 2019, Maldives' container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 31% on 2018 (from 82,253 to 107,728). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2018), the average change was +5.9% and a typical year strayed about 14.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above 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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