São Tomé and Principe: Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 34.73% from 75,922 in 2014 (8.18% a year on average, compounded). Since 2010 it is up 80.34% from 27,477 in 2010 (6.77% a year on average, compounded).

What the numbers say

In 2019, São Tomé and Principe's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 3.3% on 2018 (from 47,990 to 49,553).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +20.5% and a typical year strayed about 79.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 215.9% in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 23.8% in 2018. 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 3% 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, São Tomé and Principe had the 21st 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 São Tomé and Principe in the 2019 ranking

• Comoros — 17th of 32: 54,359
• Timor-Leste — 18th of 32: 53,289
• Kiribati — 19th of 32: 52,100
• British Virgin Islands — 21st of 32: 45,956
• Northern Mariana Islands — 22nd of 32: 44,952
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 23rd of 32: 42,211

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

• Angola — 709,221 (2024)
• Benin — 510,896 (2019)
• 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

More infrastructure data for São Tomé and Principe

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1,781 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.76 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 147,061 (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 62.44 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$1.31 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 1.17% (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1,199 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 38,767 (2023)
• Scientific and technical journal articles

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 São Tomé and Principe's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)?

49,553 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 80.34% from 27,477 in 2010 (6.77% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 86,790 in 2011 and the lowest 27,477 in 2010.

How does São Tomé and Principe rank?

21st highest of 32 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) unusual for São Tomé and Principe?

In 2019, São Tomé and Principe's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 3.3% on 2018 (from 47,990 to 49,553). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +20.5% and a typical year strayed about 79.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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.

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.