The world's ten highest-volume container ports in 2024, ranked by annual throughput in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
Quick answer: 1. Port of Shanghai, 2. Port of Singapore, 3. Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, 4. Port of Shenzhen, 5. Port of Qingdao, 6. Port of Guangzhou, 7. Port of Busan, 8. Port of Tianjin, 9. Port of Jebel Ali (Dubai), 10. Port Klang.
Global trade moves in steel boxes, and a handful of mega-ports handle a staggering share of it. This list ranks the ten busiest container ports on Earth by their full-year 2024 throughput, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) — the standard yardstick that counts how many container-sized loads pass across a port's quays. The 2024 rankings are dominated by East Asia: six of the top ten ports are in mainland China, led by Shanghai, which became the first port in history to move more than 50 million TEU in a single year. For anyone tracking supply chains, shipping, or the geography of world commerce, these are the choke points and gateways that keep goods flowing.
The world's busiest container port for 15 straight years, Shanghai became the first port ever to cross 50 million TEU in a single year, handling 51.5 million in 2024 — up 4.8% on 2023.
The world's largest transhipment hub, Singapore ranks second globally with 41.1 million TEU in 2024, up about 5.4% as it consolidates cargo bound across Asia, Europe and beyond.
China's second-largest box port and third globally, Ningbo-Zhoushan handled 39.3 million TEU in 2024 and is rising fast, up roughly 11.4% year-on-year.
Shenzhen set a record of 33.38 million TEU in 2024, up 11.7% — its strongest growth rate in a decade — to hold fourth place worldwide.
Northern China's leading container gateway, Qingdao ranked fifth globally in 2024 with 30.9 million TEU, up about 7% on the year.
A major Pearl River Delta gateway, Guangzhou handled 26.1 million TEU in 2024, up about 3.9% year-on-year from 25.1 million in 2023, to rank sixth-busiest worldwide.
South Korea's largest port and Northeast Asia's main transhipment hub, Busan set a record 24.4 million TEU in 2024, up 5.5%, to rank seventh globally.
The principal maritime gateway to Beijing and northern China, Tianjin handled 23.3 million TEU in 2024, up about 6.8%, ranking eighth-busiest worldwide.
The Middle East's largest and busiest port and the highest-ranked outside East Asia, Jebel Ali handled 15.5 million TEU in 2024, up about 7.4%, to rank ninth globally.
Malaysia's largest port and a key Strait of Malacca transhipment hub, Port Klang rounds out the global top ten with 14.6 million TEU in 2024, up about 4.2%.
| # | Name | country | yoyGrowthPct | worldRank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port of Shanghai | China | 4.8 | 1 |
| 2 | Port of Singapore | Singapore | 5.4 | 2 |
| 3 | Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan | China | 11.4 | 3 |
| 4 | Port of Shenzhen | China | 11.7 | 4 |
| 5 | Port of Qingdao | China | 7 | 5 |
| 6 | Port of Guangzhou | China | 3.9 | 6 |
| 7 | Port of Busan | South Korea | 5.5 | 7 |
| 8 | Port of Tianjin | China | 6.8 | 8 |
| 9 | Port of Jebel Ali (Dubai) | United Arab Emirates | 7.4 | 9 |
| 10 | Port Klang | Malaysia | 4.2 | 10 |
Ports are ranked by total container throughput for the 2024 calendar year, measured in millions of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) — the count of standard container loads handled, including laden and empty boxes plus transhipment. TEU is the universal industry metric, so a port that transships a container counts each move it handles. Figures are drawn primarily from the World Shipping Council's Top 50 Container Ports and Lloyd's List's "One Hundred Container Ports 2024," cross-referenced against the Wikipedia compilation of those datasets; where an individual port authority published an official 2024 record (Shenzhen, Busan), that figure is used. Inclusion is limited to individual container ports worldwide (not multi-port regions or coastal ranges). Rank 1 is the highest throughput; ties are not present in this dataset.
The Port of Shanghai in China is the world's busiest container port. In 2024 it handled 51.5 million TEU, becoming the first port in history to exceed 50 million TEU in a single year — its 15th consecutive year at number one.
TEU stands for twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container port throughput. One TEU equals a single 20-foot shipping container; a common 40-foot container counts as two TEU. Ranking ports by TEU counts every container move a port handles, including transhipment and empty boxes.
Six of the ten busiest container ports in 2024 are in mainland China: Shanghai (1st), Ningbo-Zhoushan (3rd), Shenzhen (4th), Qingdao (5th), Guangzhou (6th), and Tianjin (8th). Together those six Chinese ports account for well over half the list's combined throughput. The remaining four are Singapore, Busan in South Korea, Jebel Ali in the UAE, and Port Klang in Malaysia.
None of the top ten busiest container ports in 2024 are outside Asia. The Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at ninth with 15.5 million TEU, is the highest-ranked port outside East Asia and the busiest in the Middle East. The largest European and American ports fall below the global top ten by this measure.