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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Tunisia's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 10.6% on 2023 (from 444,714 to 491,955).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2023), the average change was −0.3% and a typical year strayed about 4.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.6% in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.1% in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 15% 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 2024, Tunisia had the 81st highest value of the 103 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 Tunisia in the 2024 ranking

• Angola — 78th of 103: 709,221
• Georgia — 79th of 103: 636,497
• Croatia — 80th of 103: 532,451
• Latvia — 82nd of 103: 490,971
• Mauritius — 83rd of 103: 468,254
• Bahrain — 84th of 103: 409,382

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 15 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 Tunisia

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1.96 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 15.97 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 35,726 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 10.96 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 4.11 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 14.44 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 117.61 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$526.47 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 4.26% (2025)
• Patent applications, nonresidents

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

491,955 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2010?

It is up 5.52% from 466,210 in 2010 (0.38% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 493,366 in 2018 and the lowest 431,420 in 2022.

How does Tunisia rank?

81st highest of 103 economies with data for 2024.

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

In 2024, Tunisia's container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) rose 10.6% on 2023 (from 444,714 to 491,955). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2023), the average change was −0.3% and a typical year strayed about 4.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

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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