In 2024, nine of the world’s ten busiest ports are in Asia, highlighting a major shift in global trade. Once, most Asian exports went beyond the region, but now about 60% stay within Asia. This change is driven by deeper regional integration and supply chain shifts. China, with seven of the top ten ports, plays a central role, thanks to its extensive port network supporting the Belt and Road Initiative. Singapore’s port, the second busiest, connects to 120 countries, while Rotterdam leads in Europe with advanced autonomous shipping projects. This dynamic shift shows Asia’s rising dominance in global trade and infrastructure.
Nine of the ten busiest ports in the world as of 2024 are in Asia, highlighting the movement of global commerce flows eastward.
Trade inside Asia has risen dramatically intraregional as a result of changes in the supply chain and increased integration.
Over 70% of Asian exports by value left the region in the 1990s, with most of the containers being returned empty.
In contrast, today’s trade inside Asia accounts for almost 60% of all exports.
The busiest ports worldwide in 2024 are depicted in this graphic, courtesy of Dorothy Neufeld of Visual Capitalist, which is based on data from Ship Technology.
The World’s Most Active Ports
According to yearly TEU traffic, these are the top 10 busiest container ports worldwide in 2023. Twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU for short, is a common measure of cargo capacity.
The fact that China is home to seven of the world’s ten busiest ports shows how important the country is to international trade and production.
The nation has been the world’s top exporter of products since 2009. A key component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the renovation and growth of China’s port infrastructure. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a worldwide infrastructure development strategy that China launched in 2013. Its goal is to create vast networks of railways, energy pipelines, roadways, and shipping routes to increase connectivity and trade between Asia, Europe, and Africa.
The Port of Singapore, which is currently the second-largest port in the world, handled 39 million TEU in 2023. The port, which is linked to 600 ports in more than 120 countries, receives 130,000 vessels annually. Furthermore, there are 1,000 ships at the port at any given time of day.
Europe’s principal center outside of Asia is the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The port, which has its roots in the fifteenth century, is roughly 40 km (25 mi) long and 10 km (6 mi) wide. More recently, the Port of Rotterdam has been collaborating with multiple partners on autonomous shipping initiatives that enable remote control of vessels through the use of cameras and sensors, which act as the ship’s eyes and ears.
Last month, GreatGameInternational reported that chaos in the Red Sea intensified when Houthi rebels used a kamikaze drone boat to sink the dry-bulk freighter Tutor, causing a surge in commercial shipping costs. Insurance rates for vessels have now risen to 6% of their value, affecting global containerized freight and port operations.
