portindex.org

RANKINGS

Six scoped regional leaderboards, not a global "top ports in the world" ranking. Each one ranks ports from a single country reporting cargo for the exact same real period, from the same source family, in the same unit — a genuine same-period, same-unit comparison. Click a port to expand every other real metric reported for it.

Why not one global ranking?

PortIndex doesn't currently publish a single worldwide cargo-throughput ranking, and that's deliberate: reporting periods are staggered across countries and sources (Tunisia's cluster covers Jan–Jun 2026, India's covers its own fiscal window, Malaysia, Japan, and Sri Lanka each cover their own real calendar windows, Morocco's is a year-to-date window, and other tracked ports report on entirely different real calendars), and metric and unit naming conventions aren't fully normalized across the full port catalogue yet — for example vessel-call counts use the unit vessel_calls_count almost everywhere but literally count for at least one tracked port. Ranking across mismatched periods or silently-merged units would misrepresent real data as more comparable than it actually is, and some clusters mix in national/regional aggregate rows (like two Malaysian MOT state aggregates) that have to be excluded from a ranking of individual ports. The six leaderboards below are the parts of the catalogue where that comparison is honest today.

Data Depth

A different axis of honesty from the leaderboards below: of the 17,489 ports catalogued and 601 with any tracked statistics (updated 2026-09-18 — this figure has grown substantially since the 2026-09-13 count this section was first written against, from ongoing connector deployment, not a data-quality change), only these 4 have real multi-decade-or-near-decade time-series depth — long enough to show an actual trend, not just a single reporting period. The next-deepest series among the rest is Mozambique's other port network (Quelimane, Nacala, Pemba, Mocímboa da Praia — same 50-year annual run as Maputo/Beira above, not repeated here), then Hamburg at 35 annual rows — still a fraction of Singapore's or Hong Kong's depth.

PortMetricRecordsRangeUnit
SingaporeContainer throughput379 (monthly)Jan 1995 – Jul 2026thousand TEU
Maputo, MozambiqueTotal cargo handled50 (annual)1975 – 2024tonnes
Beira, MozambiqueTotal cargo handled50 (annual)1975 – 2024tonnes
Hong KongContainer throughput115 (monthly)Jan 2017 – Jul 2026TEU

Singapore: 31 years of monthly data, one unit throughout. Maputo, Mozambique: 7.8M → 30.9M tonnes, ~4.0x growth end to end. Beira, Mozambique: 2.1M → 16.7M tonnes, ~7.8x growth end to end. Hong Kong: Real monthly-cadence subset only — this port also has 8 annual rows back to 2009, kept separate rather than blended into a single misleading depth claim.

Tunisia — 1 Jan – 1 Jul 2026

8 ports, all reporting cargo tonnage, TEU, and vessel calls for the identical real period from the Tunisian OMMP port-statistics source family. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo (tonnes)TEUVessel calls
1Radès3,686,793176,387600
2Sfax3,227,21257,849360
3Bizerte2,753,8788,160187
4La Skhirra1,434,507—48
5Gabès1,311,971—175
6Sousse1,103,38835,333300
7Zarzis706,7742,737113
8La Goulette Nord (Halqueloued)570,940225427

India — 1 Apr – 1 Sep 2026

12 ports, all reporting cargo tonnage for the identical real fiscal period from the India Ports Association (IPA) source family. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo (tonnes)
1Kandla74,937,000
2Paradip Port64,455,000
3Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva)46,361,000
4Visakhapatnam39,015,000
5Mumbai (ex Bombay)30,361,000
6Kolkata (ex Calcutta)28,891,000
7Chennai (ex Madras)23,231,000
8Ennore21,406,000
9New Mangalore19,657,000
10Tuticorin18,265,000
11Kochi15,634,000
12Marmagao (Marmugao)8,144,000

Malaysia — 1 Jan 2025 – 1 Jan 2026

10 ports, all reporting total, export, and import cargo tonnage for the identical real period from the Malaysia Ministry of Transport (MOT) source family. Two MOT state-level aggregate rows (Johor and Sabah) are excluded — they roll up multiple facilities and aren't individual ports. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo total (tonnes)Export (tonnes)Import (tonnes)
1Port Klang (Pelabuhan Klang)248,706,00052,480,00074,204,000
2Tanjung Pelepas153,992,0004,125,0002,174,000
3Bintulu, Sarawak45,113,00039,007,0005,273,000
4Penang (Georgetown)30,724,00011,952,00018,443,000
5Kuantan (Tanjong Gelang)21,339,0009,544,00011,719,000
6Port Dickson15,130,0001,171,00013,958,000
7Kuching, Sarawak10,434,0001,551,0008,679,000
8Kemaman7,802,0003,326,0004,476,000
9Miri, Sarawak6,643,0002,811,000511,000
10Rejang, Sarawak1,496,000232,0001,264,000

Japan — Calendar year 2024

5 ports, all reporting cargo tonnage for the identical real calendar year from the MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) Port Survey source family. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo (tonnes)
1Nagoya, Aichi156,706,387
2Yokohama101,225,498
3Kobe92,978,639
4Osaka85,599,343
5Tokyo82,906,166

Sri Lanka — Calendar year 2024

4 ports, all reporting cargo tonnage for the identical real calendar year from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority annual-report source family. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo (tonnes)
1Colombo43,858,000
2Hambantota3,032,150
3Trincomalee2,613,000
4Galle400

Morocco — Jan – Oct 2025 (year to date)

3 ports, all reporting year-to-date cargo tonnage for the identical real reporting window from the morocco_*_port_activity source family. Ranked by total cargo handled.

RankPortCargo (tonnes)
1Tanger Med118,500,000
2Jorf Lasfar30,600,000
3Casablanca24,400,000

Metric coverage catalog

Which ports report a given metric — presence only, never a value comparison. This is deliberately not a ranking: many of these metric names come from different port authorities' own conventions and aren't necessarily measuring the same thing the same way, so no value is shown here at all, only which real ports have reported it at least once. Limited to metrics with 3 or more reporting ports.

Animals Camels (9 ports)
Animals Cows (9 ports)
Animals Goats (9 ports)
Animals Horses (9 ports)
Animals Sheep (9 ports)
Animals Total (9 ports)
Break Bulk Tonnes (17 ports)
Bulk Cargo Tonnes (3 ports)
Bulk Cargo Unloaded (9 ports)
Bulk Liquid (8 ports)
Bulk Solid (8 ports)
Bulk Solid Food (8 ports)
Cabotage Tonnes (11 ports)
Cargo Bolivia Transit Tonnes (4 ports)
Cargo Break Bulk Tonnes (3 ports)
Cargo Bunkering (15 ports)
Cargo Containerized Tonnes (4 ports)
Cargo Dry Bulk Tonnes (3 ports)
Cargo Export (15 ports)
Cargo Export Tonnes (17 ports)
Cargo Handled Total Tonnes (12 ports)
Cargo Import (15 ports)
Cargo Import Tonnes (17 ports)
Cargo Inbound Tonnes (202 ports)
Cargo Liquid Bulk Tonnes (5 ports)
Cargo Loaded Tonnes (12 ports)
Cargo Outbound Tonnes (198 ports)
Cargo Tonnes (13 ports)
Cargo Total (15 ports)
Cargo Total Tonnes (619 ports)
Cargo Transshipment (15 ports)
Cargo Transshipment Tonnes (6 ports)
Cargo Unloaded Tonnes (11 ports)
Cereals (8 ports)
Chassis Cargo Export Tonnes (12 ports)
Chassis Cargo Import Tonnes (12 ports)
Chassis Cargo Inbound Tonnes (12 ports)
Chassis Cargo Outbound Tonnes (12 ports)
Chassis Cargo Total Tonnes (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Export Empty Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Export Full Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Export Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Import Empty Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Import Full Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Import Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Inbound Empty Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Inbound Full Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Inbound Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Outbound Empty Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Outbound Full Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Outbound Units (12 ports)
Chassis Unit Count Total Units (12 ports)
Coal Bulk Cargo Tonnes (11 ports)
Container Capacity Teu (3 ports)
Container Cargo (9 ports)
Container Cargo Chassis Mode Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Container Mode Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Export Chassis Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Export Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Import Chassis Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Import Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Inbound Chassis Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Inbound Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Outbound Chassis Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Outbound Tonnes (14 ports)
Container Cargo Tonnes (13 ports)
Container Cargo Total Tonnes (14 ports)
Containerized Cargo Tonnes (6 ports)
Containers Shipped Empty 20ft (8 ports)
Containers Shipped Empty 40ft (8 ports)
Containers Shipped Empty Total (9 ports)
Containers Shipped Packed 20ft (9 ports)
Containers Shipped Packed 40ft (9 ports)
Containers Shipped Packed Total (9 ports)
Containers Unloaded 20ft (8 ports)
Containers Unloaded 40ft (8 ports)
Containers Unloaded Total (9 ports)
Container Teu (285 ports)
Container Teu Inbound (4 ports)
Container Teu Outbound (4 ports)
Container Teus (6 ports)
Container Throughput Teu (6 ports)
Container Throughput Teus (19 ports)
Container Throughput Ytd Teus (19 ports)
Container Unit Count Export Empty Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Export Full Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Export Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Import Empty Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Import Full Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Import Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Inbound Empty Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Inbound Full Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Inbound Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Outbound Empty Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Outbound Full Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Outbound Teu (14 ports)
Container Unit Count Total Teu (14 ports)
Container Units (15 ports)
Container Utilization Pct (3 ports)
Cruise Passenger Count (8 ports)
Cruise Passengers (21 ports)
Domestic Trade Cargo Tonnes (39 ports)
Domestic Trade Inbound Tonnes (39 ports)
Domestic Trade Outbound Tonnes (39 ports)
Empty Container Traffic Teus (13 ports)
Export Tonnes (11 ports)
Foreign Trade Cargo Tonnes (39 ports)
Foreign Trade Export Tonnes (39 ports)
Foreign Trade Import Tonnes (39 ports)
Full Container Traffic Teus (13 ports)
General Cargo (9 ports)
General Cargo Loaded (9 ports)
General Cargo Tonnes (21 ports)
General Cargo Unloaded (9 ports)
Goods Packed Unloaded (9 ports)
Grand Total (3 ports)
Gross Tonnage (3 ports)
Hydrocarbons (8 ports)
Import Tonnes (11 ports)
International Transit Tonnes (11 ports)
Inward Cargo Tonnes (53 ports)
Inward Unitised Traffic Units (53 ports)
Liquid Bulk Cargo Tonnes (17 ports)
Liquid Bulk Tonnes (17 ports)
Miscellaneous Cargo (8 ports)
National Total Cargo Tonnes Cumulative Ytd (42 ports)
Onboard Movements Tonnes (11 ports)
Other Solid Bulk Cargo Tonnes (11 ports)
Outward Cargo Tonnes (53 ports)
Outward Unitised Traffic Units (53 ports)
Passenger Count (8 ports)
Passengers Total (430 ports)
Port Traffic Ytd (10 ports)
Prior Year Container Teu (15 ports)
Prior Year Total Cargo Tonnes (15 ports)
River Tonnes (11 ports)
Rolling Cargo Tonnes (15 ports)
Ro Ro Cargo (8 ports)
Ro Ro Unit Count (8 ports)
Ships Total (4 ports)
Solid Bulk Cargo Tonnes (4 ports)
Solid Bulk Tonnes (16 ports)
Temporary Tonnes (11 ports)
Teu Count (10 ports)
Total Cargo Handled (31 ports)
Total Cargo Tonnes (243 ports)
Total Cargo Tonnes Cumulative Ytd (27 ports)
Total Container Throughput (6 ports)
Total Container Traffic Teus (14 ports)
Total Export Tonnes (3 ports)
Total Import Tonnes (3 ports)
Total Teu (5 ports)
Total Unitised Traffic Units (53 ports)
Transshipment Tonnes (11 ports)
Vehicle Count (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Export Bus Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Export Other Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Export Passenger Car Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Export Truck Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Export Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Import Bus Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Import Other Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Import Passenger Car Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Import Truck Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Import Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Inbound Bus Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Inbound Other Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Inbound Passenger Car Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Inbound Truck Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Inbound Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Outbound Bus Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Outbound Other Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Outbound Passenger Car Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Outbound Truck Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Outbound Units (8 ports)
Vehicle Ferry Total Units (8 ports)
Vehicles Inside Container (9 ports)
Vehicles On Wheels (9 ports)
Vehicles Total (9 ports)
Vessel Calls (728 ports)
Vessels Count (9 ports)
Provenance

Every figure above is a real reported value pulled directly from PortIndex's production database, not an estimate or a fabricated placeholder. Rows are shown in a fixed rank order rather than made sortable by metric — letting a visitor re-sort by TEU or vessel calls would imply those make an equally valid standalone ranking, which would quietly undercut the same-period framing above. Expanding a port row shows every other real metric reported for it — the same data and formatting as that port's own detail page, not just the one metric it's ranked by here. A port with only one tracked metric says so plainly rather than showing an empty box.