In the latest global ranking of container ports, only four African ports secured a place in the 2025 global Top 100, highlighting the continent’s continuing struggle to scale up its maritime infrastructure and operational capacity.
According to Business Insider, the findings highlight the continent’s ongoing infrastructure and logistical constraints despite notable improvements in select terminals.
Lloyd’s List’s latest assessment shows that global container traffic is rebounding strongly. Worldwide throughput reached 743.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (teu) in 2024, an 8.1% increase from a year earlier signalling recovery from several years of suppressed volumes driven by pandemic-era disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Asia continues to dominate global trade flows, with Chinese ports alone responsible for over 40% of total container throughput.
North America and Europe also gained momentum, supported by shifting supply chains, stronger consumer spending and strategic inventory replenishment. Africa continues to play a modest role in global container shipping, with only four ports listed in the 2025 Lloyd’s List top 100. Morocco’s Tanger Med remains the continent’s strongest performer, ranking 17th globally after handling over 10.2 million TEUs in 2024 – an 18.9% surge that reinforces its role as a major transshipment gateway.
Egypt follows with Port Said at 53rd position, although its 3.9 million TEUs represented a slight decline due to disruptions in the Red Sea. Alexandria showed stronger momentum, climbing to 2.2 million TEUs and posting one of the region’s fastest throughput gains. Togo’s Lomé Port completes Africa’s presence, ranking 92nd with more than 2 million TEUs, maintaining its growing influence in West Africa’s shipping corridors.
Why Africa is falling behind in the global logistics race
The continent’s shipping performance continues to face severe strain from global and regional disruptions. The ongoing security crisis in the Red Sea has rerouted major shipping lines away from key African gateways, causing delays, higher insurance costs and a reduction in vessel calls to Eastern and Northern African ports.
Meanwhile, major Western carriers have scaled back operations on some West African routes due to lower freight demand and capacity constraints. At a structural level, limited port automation, capacity bottlenecks, slow cargo clearance processes and a lack of rail connectivity continue to dampen competitiveness. Many African economies remain heavily import-dependent, offering less incentive for large-scale transshipment investments.
While the four listed ports are bright spots, the continent must accelerate investment in maritime infrastructure, digital logistics systems and supply-chain security to prevent further marginalisation in global trade.
