2 Views 0 Comments Shares

Top 10 Busiest Container Ports in the World

By Dhiraj Sharma · Published November 12, 2026

Listen to this article Free TTS Play using your browser's built-in text-to-speech

Editorial TEU pier diagram in container coral and crane teal, with no port or operator logos.

The busiest container ports ranked here use dated twenty-foot equivalent unit throughput for the 2024 calendar year, with later official 2025 totals labelled. Rank follows calendar-year container throughput in twenty-foot equivalent units, using 2024 as the ranking year because that year is fully reported in Lloyd's List One Hundred Container Ports 2025 and is corroborated in later compiled tables, with official 2025 authority totals labelled separately where they have been published ^[1]^[2]^[3]. Shanghai handled 51,506,300 TEU in 2024, up 4.8 percent from 49,158,300 in 2023, according to the Lloyd's List port profile ^[1]. Shanghai International Port Group later posted 2025 throughput of 55.06 million TEU, about 6.9 percent higher than 2024 ^[2]. Mixing those two years in a single unlabelled column would be a method error, so the table ranks 2024 and records 2025 as an update.

Singapore was second in 2024, at 41,124,100 TEU in the corroborated compiled figures, and PSA later reported a preliminary 2025 total of about 44.5 million TEU ^[2]^[3]. Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Busan, Tianjin, Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Port Klang complete the 2024 ten; Rotterdam sits just outside it ^[3]. This is a TEU list, not a cargo-tonnage list, and it does not copy port or operator logos in the featured image.

Key Facts

The 2024 figures used here are 51,506,300 TEU for Shanghai, 41,124,100 for Singapore, 39,300,000 for Ningbo-Zhoushan, 33,400,000 for Shenzhen, 30,870,000 for Qingdao, 26,070,000 for Guangzhou, 24,402,020 for Busan, 23,300,000 for Tianjin, 15,536,000 for Jebel Ali, and 14,644,527 for Port Klang ^[1]^[3]. Compiled 2025 totals later published for the same ports include about 55,062,500 TEU for Shanghai, 44,663,710 for Singapore, 43,872,000 for Ningbo-Zhoushan, 35,408,400 for Shenzhen, 32,893,000 for Qingdao, 27,680,000 for Guangzhou, 24,880,000 for Busan, 24,032,900 for Tianjin, 15,552,000 for Jebel Ali, and 15,138,772 for Port Klang, with Rotterdam at 14,244,954 still eleventh on that later year ^[3]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official 2024 TEU total, which is also the only port whose operator has a widely cited official 2025 figure above 55 million TEU.

A preliminary operator figure and a later compiled figure can differ by a few hundred thousand TEU, as with Singapore's 2025 totals, and that difference is labelled rather than hidden ^[2]^[3]. The table is the official spine: 2024 first, 2025 update second, and no unsourced "biggest port by ships" claim is smuggled in as a TEU fact.

Busiest Container Ports at a Glance

Rank	Port	2024 TEU	Later 2025 note
1	Shanghai	51,506,300	Official SIPG 2025 total 55.06 million TEU
2	Singapore	41,124,100	PSA preliminary 2025 about 44.5 million; later compiled 44,663,710
3	Ningbo-Zhoushan	39,300,000	Later compiled 2025 total 43,872,000
4	Shenzhen	33,400,000	Later compiled 2025 total 35,408,400
5	Qingdao	30,870,000	Later compiled 2025 total 32,893,000
6	Guangzhou	26,070,000	Later compiled 2025 total 27,680,000
7	Busan	24,402,020	Later compiled 2025 total 24,880,000
8	Tianjin	23,300,000	Later compiled 2025 total 24,032,900
9	Jebel Ali, Dubai	15,536,000	Later compiled 2025 total 15,552,000
10	Port Klang	14,644,527	Later compiled 2025 total 15,138,772; Rotterdam remains just outside the ten

1. Shanghai

The Port of Shanghai handled 51,506,300 TEU in 2024, up 4.8 percent from 49,158,300 in 2023, according to Lloyd's List, and it is the outstanding official 2024 container total ^[1]. Shanghai International Port Group later posted 2025 throughput of 55.06 million TEU, about 6.9 percent higher, with international transshipment and the Yangshan area contributing a larger share ^[2]. Those two years are not mixed in the rank column. This article records dated TEU, not a skyline, and it does not copy operator logos.

It is first as the outstanding official 2024 TEU port, a labelled 51.5-million figure with a later official 2025 update, and the documentary centre of this ten ^[1]^[2]. A later official revision of a few thousand TEU will belong in a revision of the cell.

Lloyd's List and the official SIPG 2025 total are the sources ^[1]^[2].

2. Singapore

The Port of Singapore handled 41,124,100 TEU in 2024 in the corroborated compiled figures, second in the ranking year, and later 2025 totals are about 44.5 million in PSA's preliminary report and 44,663,710 in a later compiled table ^[2]^[3]. The difference of a few hundred thousand TEU between a preliminary operator figure and a later compilation is labelled. The port remains second in both the 2024 ranking year and the later 2025 updates cited here. This article records dated TEU, not a connectivity index.

It is second as the outstanding official 2024 TEU port after Shanghai, a labelled 41.1-million figure with a later 2025 update, and a necessary counterpart to Shanghai ^[2]^[3]. A later final official figure will belong in a revision of the 2025 cell.

Compiled 2024 figures and later official and compiled 2025 totals are the sources ^[2]^[3].

3. Ningbo-Zhoushan

Ningbo-Zhoushan handled 39,300,000 TEU in 2024 and a later compiled 43,872,000 TEU in 2025, remaining third in both years cited here ^[3]. The port is a combined official Chinese port name, not two silent ranks. The 2024-to-2025 rise is large, but it does not overtake Singapore in the figures used for this article. This article records dated TEU.

It is third as the outstanding official 2024 TEU port after Singapore, a labelled 39.3-million figure with a later 2025 update, and a necessary counterpart to Shanghai ^[3]. A later official authority total will belong in a revision of the cell.