Number of Bulk Carriers by Country (2026)
The number of bulk carriers measures how many bulk carriers are registered under a country's flag. Unlike fleet statistics measured in deadweight tonnage, this indicator counts vessels rather than their capacity, making it useful for comparing bulk carrier fleets by the number of ships they contain. The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database. The dataset covers 196 countries and territories, and the table below lists 100 of them that record any bulk carriers in the period; their combined bulk carrier fleet stood at 14,623 ships in 2026.
Panama recorded the most bulk carriers in 2026 with 3,003 vessels. Liberia ranked second with 2,372, followed by the Marshall Islands (2,047), China (2,019), and Hong Kong (890). Singapore (757), Malta (485), the Bahamas (338), Cyprus (255), and Indonesia (236) complete the top ten. Bulk carrier fleets are concentrated among a small group of open registries and China. Panama alone accounts for about 21 percent of the bulk carriers in the table, while the top five countries together account for about 71 percent. Among the 100 countries listed, 4 register more than 1,000 bulk carriers, while 10 report a nil fleet for 2026. In Asia, China (2,019) records by far the largest number of bulk carriers, ahead of Hong Kong (890) and Singapore (757). Indonesia (236), Japan (192), and Vietnam (103) follow, while South Korea (95) and Bangladesh (83) register fewer than 100 vessels each. In Europe, Malta (485) records the largest fleet by bulk carrier count, followed by Cyprus (255), Portugal (199), and Greece (110). The Isle of Man (101), Norway (99), and Belgium (60) follow, while Türkiye (36) and the United Kingdom (26) register fewer. In the Americas, Panama (3,003) and the Bahamas (338) dominate, with Barbados (164) the next largest registry. In Africa, Liberia (2,372) records the largest number of bulk carriers, while almost all other African registries have none apart from a handful of vessels in Egypt (14). In the Middle East, Iran (33) records the most, ahead of Saudi Arabia (13). In Oceania, the Marshall Islands (2,047) holds the largest bulk carrier fleet through open-registry registration, followed by Palau (58), Vanuatu (8), and Australia (2). Among open-registry economies, Panama, the Marshall Islands, and Liberia are the largest by bulk carrier count. Liberia recorded the largest increase between 2021 and 2026, rising from 1,487 to 2,372 bulk carriers (up 885). China added 410 vessels, from 1,609 to 2,019, and the Marshall Islands grew from 1,734 to 2,047 (up 313). Panama added 308, Singapore 181, and Portugal 113. Hong Kong recorded the largest decline, from 1,157 to 890 bulk carriers (down 267), followed by Malta (down 116) and Italy (down 29). The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database, indicator Number of ships (bulk carriers), which counts the bulk carriers registered under each country's flag. According to UNCTAD, the fleet registration statistics cover all commercial ships of 100 gross tons and above. The main comparison uses 2026 data where available, and the latest available year for countries without a 2026 observation. Countries with no bulk carriers in any year of the period are excluded from the table. In the table, a zero reflects a nil fleet, while an empty cell means that no value was reported; the two are never mixed up in the calculations.Countries With the Most Bulk Carriers in 2026
Number of Bulk Carriers by Country (2026)
1
2,695
2
1734
3
1609
4
1487
5
1157
6
601
7
576
8
333
9
269
10
158
11
148
12
148
13
118
14
109
15
101
16
86
17
78
18
63
19
62
20
54
21
49
22
46
23
38
24
37
25
36
26
36
27
33
28
32
29
31
30
27
31
26
32
24
33
22
34
21
35
19
36
19
37
18
38
17
39
16
40
16
41
14
42
14
43
13
44
12
45
11
46
10
47
10
48
9
49
9
50
9
51
9
52
8
53
6
54
6
55
6
56
5
57
5
58
5
59
4
60
4
61
4
62
4
63
4
64
4
65
4
66
4
67
3
68
3
69
3
70
2
71
2
72
2
73
2
74
2
75
1
76
1
77
1
78
1
79
1
80
1
81
1
82
1
83
1
84
1
85
1
86
1
87
1
88
1
89
0
90
0
91
0
92
0
93
0
94
0
95
0
96
0
97
0
98
0
99
0
100
0
Number of Bulk Carriers Around the World
Largest Changes in Number of Bulk Carriers, 2021–2026
Number of Bulk Carriers by Country (2026)
#
1
2,695
2,690
2,733
2,725
2,899
3,003
2
1734
1879
1939
2014
2010
2047
3
1609
1759
1999
2,159
2038
2019
4
1487
1668
1893
2045
2,230
2,372
5
1157
1136
1047
1008
978
890
6
601
545
490
468
493
485
7
576
574
592
618
669
757
8
333
339
345
342
338
338
9
269
255
245
250
259
255
10
158
146
131
126
116
110
11
148
153
156
192
216
236
12
148
149
166
175
181
192
13
118
116
117
113
111
103
14
109
105
109
110
105
99
15
101
97
101
101
102
101
16
86
103
109
117
163
199
17
78
84
93
95
96
95
18
63
65
66
68
66
68
19
62
58
52
55
44
57
20
54
51
54
67
66
53
21
49
57
68
70
81
83
22
46
61
91
119
148
164
23
38
37
43
45
41
36
24
37
33
28
26
25
24
25
36
20
17
8
7
7
26
36
29
28
26
26
26
27
33
35
35
34
23
21
28
32
32
32
32
33
33
29
31
35
33
47
56
52
30
27
32
30
31
35
32
31
26
26
28
29
26
26
32
24
26
24
21
19
31
33
22
23
21
16
16
15
34
21
21
22
22
22
24
35
19
18
17
18
23
60
36
19
19
18
12
7
4
37
18
16
11
11
7
8
38
17
29
50
68
57
58
39
16
14
14
14
14
16
40
16
16
14
14
12
11
41
14
12
10
7
7
9
42
14
15
14
13
14
14
43
13
12
15
23
23
24
44
12
12
12
12
12
12
45
11
11
12
12
12
16
46
10
11
11
13
15
14
47
10
11
11
13
13
14
48
9
11
17
20
24
22
49
9
9
9
7
5
5
50
9
8
7
7
6
6
51
9
6
5
4
3
4
52
8
13
15
17
12
14
53
6
4
3
4
2
2
54
6
9
22
27
74
93
55
6
5
5
4
4
5
56
5
5
1
0
0
0
57
5
5
5
5
5
5
58
5
6
9
11
13
13
59
4
3
2
2
2
1
60
4
4
3
3
4
4
61
4
5
4
7
6
5
62
4
4
9
3
5
6
63
4
4
4
4
4
2
64
4
3
3
3
7
8
65
4
4
4
4
4
4
66
4
3
3
3
3
8
67
3
2
2
5
4
1
68
3
3
2
1
1
1
69
3
3
4
3
3
1
70
2
2
2
2
2
2
71
2
0
0
0
0
0
72
2
2
2
2
2
2
73
2
1
1
1
1
1
74
2
3
3
2
3
2
75
1
1
1
1
1
1
76
1
1
1
1
1
1
77
-
-
-
-
-
1
78
1
1
1
1
1
1
79
1
1
1
1
1
1
80
-
-
-
-
1
0
81
1
3
2
0
0
4
82
1
0
0
0
0
0
83
1
0
0
0
0
0
84
1
1
1
1
1
1
85
1
1
1
1
0
0
86
1
1
1
3
4
7
87
1
1
0
0
0
0
88
1
2
2
2
2
2
89
0
0
0
1
3
6
90
0
0
0
0
2
4
91
0
0
0
1
1
1
92
0
0
0
1
0
0
93
0
0
0
0
0
2
94
0
1
1
0
0
0
95
0
0
3
5
12
14
96
0
1
0
0
0
0
97
0
0
1
1
1
1
98
0
0
0
0
1
1
99
-
0
0
8
19
36
100
0
0
0
2
1
9
Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the most bulk carriers?
Panama recorded the most bulk carriers in 2026 with 3,003 vessels, followed by Liberia (2,372) and the Marshall Islands (2,047).
How many countries are included in the dataset?
The dataset covers 196 countries and territories, and the table lists the 100 countries that record any bulk carriers in the period.
What does this indicator measure?
It counts the bulk carriers registered under each country's flag; according to UNCTAD, the fleet registration statistics cover all commercial ships of 100 gross tons and above.
Which country has the fewest bulk carriers?
Several countries recorded a single bulk carrier in 2026, including Algeria, Argentina, and Bulgaria, while 10 countries recorded no bulk carriers at all, including Germany, Syria, and Ukraine.
Why is the latest year 2026?
The number of ships indicator in UNCTAD data reports values as of the beginning of each year, and 2026 is the latest available reference point in the source data.
Data Disclaimer: Projected data (future years) are estimates based on mathematical models. Actual values may differ. Learn about our methodology →
Sources
-
Updated: 10.08.2026https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/dataviewer/US.MerchantFleet
Please log in to leave a comment.
Log in
(0) Comments