Timor-Leste: Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 2.83% from 51,822 in 2014 (0.56% a year on average, compounded). Since 2010 it is up 44.74% from 36,816 in 2010 (4.19% a year on average, compounded).

What the numbers say

In 2019, Timor-Leste's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 12% on 2018 (from 47,574 to 53,289).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 14.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 23.8% in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 19.4% 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1,686 a year. A straight line explains 62% 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, Timor-Leste had the 18th 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 Timor-Leste in the 2019 ranking

• American Samoa — 15th of 32: 76,200
• Gambia, The — 16th of 32: 71,470
• Comoros — 17th of 32: 54,359
• Kiribati — 19th of 32: 52,100
• São Tomé and Principe — 20th of 32: 49,553
• British Virgin Islands — 21st of 32: 45,956

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

• American Samoa — 76,200 (2019)
• Australia — 9.58 million (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 99,000 (2023)
• Cambodia — 1.03 million (2024)
• China — 299.7 million (2024)
• Fiji — 145,782 (2019)
• French Polynesia — 84,772 (2022)
• Guam — 190,200 (2019)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 13.69 million (2024)

More infrastructure data for Timor-Leste

• Scientific and technical journal articles — 20.7 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.63 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 116.38 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1,691 (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.12 (2024)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions — 84 (2024)
• Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) — 0.006 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$6.5 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 4.43% (2025)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

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 Timor-Leste's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units)?

53,289 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 44.74% from 36,816 in 2010 (4.19% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 59,004 in 2017 and the lowest 36,816 in 2010.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

18th highest of 32 economies with data for 2019.

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

In 2019, Timor-Leste's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 12% on 2018 (from 47,574 to 53,289). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2018), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 14.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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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