Global Port Directory
IMF PortWatch daily vessel-presence snapshot · data as of October 29, 2026 · mirrored weekly
IMF PortWatch tracks 1,380 ports across 179 countries; 2,082,187 vessels were tracked across them on the day of extraction. This directory profiles the 378 highest-activity ports (at least 1,000 tracked vessels) with per-port cargo mix and trade-share data.
From: Kpler; UN Global Platform; IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org).
Vessel activity by continent
| Continent | Ports | Countries | Vessels tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 121 | 41 | 62,812 |
| Asia & Pacific | 510 | 55 | 1,316,803 |
| Europe | 425 | 34 | 527,028 |
| North America | 225 | 38 | 115,968 |
| South America | 99 | 11 | 59,576 |
| Total | 1,380 | 179 | 2,082,187 |
Top 20 ports by tracked vessels
Vessel counts are instantaneous counts of vessels present at each port on the day of data extraction, not annual throughput figures.
Browse by country
Africa
Algeria Angola Benin Cabo Verde Cameroon Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt, Arab Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea, The State of Gabon Gambia, The Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Liberia Libya Madagascar, Republic of Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Morocco Mozambique, Republic of Namibia Nigeria Réunion Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan São Tomé and Príncipe, Democratic Republic of Tanzania, United Republic of Togo Tunisia Western Sahara
Asia & Pacific
American Samoa Australia Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh Brunei Darussalam Cambodia China, People's Republic of Cook Islands Fiji, Republic of French Polynesia Guam Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kiribati Korea, Republic of Kuwait Lebanon Macao Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China Malaysia Maldives Marshall Islands, Republic of the Micronesia, Federated States of Myanmar Nauru, Republic of New Caledonia New Zealand Northern Mariana Islands Oman Pakistan Palau, Republic of Papua New Guinea Philippines Qatar Samoa Saudi Arabia Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Province of China Thailand Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Tonga Turkmenistan Tuvalu United Arab Emirates Vanuatu Vietnam Yemen, Republic of
Europe
Albania Azerbaijan, Republic of Belgium Bulgaria Croatia, Republic of Cyprus Denmark Estonia, Republic of Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Lithuania, Republic of Malta Montenegro Netherlands, The Norway Poland, Republic of Portugal Romania Russian Federation Slovenia, Republic of Spain Sweden Türkiye, Republic of Ukraine United Kingdom
North America
Anguilla, United Kingdom-British Overseas Territory Antigua and Barbuda Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands Bahamas, The Barbados Belize Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Montserrat, United Kingdom-British Overseas Territory Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico Saint Martin Saint-Barthelemy Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands
South America
Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela, República Bolivariana de
Port data — Sources: Kpler; UN Global Platform; IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org). Reused under the IMF Copyright & Usage terms. Fields subsetted (geometry omitted); see our data sources note. The IMF is not affiliated with and does not endorse ExportSonar.
Frequently asked questions
At a glance
- 1,380 ports · 179 countries — refresh October 29, 2026
- 2,082,187 vessels tracked on extraction day
- 378 Tier-A ports profiled (≥1,000 vessels)
Where can I find a directory of world ports with traffic data?
ExportSonar's port directory profiles 1,380 ports in 179 countries using IMF PortWatch vessel counts (Kpler; UN Global Platform), refreshed October 29, 2026. Each port card lists container, dry-bulk, tanker and RoRo activity plus the cargo industries that dominate the port, which is what freight forwarders screen before quoting a route.
Which ports handle the most vessel traffic?
Asia & Pacific leads with 510 monitored ports and 1,316,803 vessels tracked on the extraction day out of 2,082,187 worldwide. Within the directory, the 378 highest-activity ports — those with at least 1,000 tracked vessels — get full profiles with cargo mix and country trade-share percentages.
Can port data help me choose a shipping route?
Yes — activity patterns reveal congestion and transshipment options. Of the 378 ports profiled here, each cleared a 1,000-vessel tracking threshold on the extraction day, and every card splits that count into container, dry-bulk, tanker and RoRo columns plus a country trade-share percent. Compare candidates side by side before you fix quotation terms.
Is the port directory data licensed for reuse?
All 1,380 port records come from Kpler, the UN Global Platform and IMF PortWatch under a redistribution-allowed-with-attribution license; every directory page carries the attribution block linking portwatch.imf.org, and the refresh stamp October 29, 2026 sits in the freshness line above the stat cards. The IMF is not affiliated with and does not endorse ExportSonar.
Primary sources: IMF PortWatch · UN Global Platform — republished with provenance by exportsonar.com