Maritime transport

In 2022, 852 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers were handled in ports worldwide. World container port throughput increased by little less than half a per cent. This is the slowest growth for more than a decade, except for the year of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020. The long-term trend shows growth, and over the last decade, world container port throughput increased by 37 per cent, up from 620 million TEUs in 2012. The added 230 million TEUs equals more than all container traffic in developed economies in 2012.

Asia’s prominent contribution to global containerized port throughput reflects the region’s leading role as a global loading and discharging centre for maritime trade and its top position as the best-connected region, whether at port or country level. In 2022, ports in developing economies of Asia and Oceania handled 59.5 per cent of world port container traffic. The shares of Developing America and Developing Africa were significantly lower, at 7 and 4 per cent, respectively.