Number of Container Ships by Country (2026)
The number of container ships measures how many container ships 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 container ship fleets by vessel count. The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database. The dataset covers 196 countries and territories, and the table below lists 99 of them that record any container ships in the period; their combined container ship fleet stood at 7,035 ships in 2026.
Liberia recorded the most container ships in 2026 with 1,305 vessels. Singapore ranked second with 881, followed by China (797), Panama (761), and Hong Kong (481). Malta (432), Portugal (345), the Marshall Islands (254), Indonesia (213), and Cyprus (154) complete the top ten, with South Korea (150) and Denmark (130) following closely. Container ship fleets are concentrated among open registries and China. Liberia alone accounts for about 19 percent of the container ships in the table, while the top five countries together account for about 60 percent. Among the 99 countries listed, 4 register more than 500 container ships, while 14 report a nil fleet for 2026. In Asia, Singapore (881) records the largest number of container ships, followed by China (797) and Hong Kong (481). Indonesia (213) and South Korea (150) follow, while Japan (62), Taiwan (52), and Vietnam (46) register fewer. In Europe, Malta (432) records the largest fleet by ship count, followed by Portugal (345), Cyprus (154), and Denmark (130). Germany (61), Türkiye (50), and the United Kingdom (49) follow, while Russia (29) and Italy (15) register fewer. In the Americas, Panama (761) records the largest number of container ships, with Antigua and Barbuda (103) the next largest registry. The United States (59) and Brazil (28) record smaller fleets. In Africa, Liberia (1,305) has by far the largest container ship fleet, while almost all other African registries record small numbers, led by Morocco (7) and Egypt (6). In the Middle East, Iran (29) records the most container ships. In Oceania, the Marshall Islands (254) records the largest container ship fleet, followed by Palau (11) and New Zealand (1); Australia reports none. Among open-registry economies, Liberia, Singapore, and Panama are the largest by container ship count. Liberia recorded the largest increase between 2021 and 2026, rising from 871 to 1,305 container ships (up 434). China added 397 vessels, from 400 to 797, and Singapore grew from 514 to 881 (up 367). Malta added 125, Panama 118, and Portugal 78. Hong Kong recorded the largest decline, from 559 to 481 container ships (down 78), followed by Cyprus (down 30) and Germany (down 21). The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database, indicator Number of ships (container ships), which counts the container ships 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 container ships 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 Container Ships in 2026
Number of Container Ships by Country (2026)
1
871
2
643
3
559
4
514
5
400
6
307
7
267
8
248
9
224
10
184
11
147
12
123
13
91
14
82
15
61
16
49
17
47
18
45
19
45
20
44
21
41
22
41
23
40
24
31
25
29
26
28
27
27
28
22
29
19
30
19
31
17
32
17
33
12
34
12
35
12
36
9
37
8
38
8
39
8
40
8
41
7
42
7
43
7
44
6
45
6
46
6
47
6
48
6
49
6
50
5
51
5
52
5
53
5
54
5
55
4
56
4
57
3
58
3
59
3
60
3
61
2
62
2
63
2
64
1
65
1
66
1
67
1
68
1
69
1
70
1
71
1
72
1
73
1
74
1
75
1
76
1
77
1
78
1
79
1
80
1
81
1
82
1
83
1
84
0
85
0
86
0
87
0
88
0
89
0
90
0
91
0
92
0
93
0
94
0
95
0
96
0
97
0
98
0
99
0
Number of Container Ships Around the World
Largest Changes in Number of Container Ships, 2021–2026
Number of Container Ships by Country (2026)
#
1
871
960
1015
1123
1245
1305
2
643
659
669
670
718
761
3
559
558
560
581
627
481
4
514
544
605
625
674
881
5
400
442
677
767
778
797
6
307
312
348
346
405
432
7
267
289
298
313
340
345
8
248
276
276
279
273
254
9
224
216
215
201
205
213
10
184
171
155
153
154
154
11
147
137
132
135
135
130
12
123
112
109
115
111
103
13
91
100
115
132
135
150
14
82
73
70
65
65
61
15
61
58
60
60
59
59
16
49
53
53
52
51
52
17
47
48
45
47
45
49
18
45
40
39
43
39
41
19
45
46
47
51
52
62
20
44
43
43
43
48
47
21
41
41
43
48
50
50
22
41
41
45
46
46
46
23
40
37
36
35
34
32
24
31
30
28
28
28
29
25
29
32
32
32
34
37
26
28
33
35
33
42
43
27
27
28
28
24
31
31
28
22
23
22
21
21
27
29
19
20
20
23
27
28
30
19
11
4
2
1
0
31
17
17
19
27
29
29
32
17
18
19
20
20
19
33
12
14
15
12
12
12
34
12
10
6
6
6
6
35
12
14
11
12
9
10
36
9
5
7
7
11
11
37
8
7
7
8
18
27
38
8
6
7
8
8
6
39
8
6
9
7
7
7
40
8
6
8
8
24
28
41
7
3
2
2
3
3
42
7
6
6
8
11
15
43
7
11
17
17
22
18
44
6
9
9
11
11
11
45
6
6
6
6
6
5
46
6
6
4
1
1
1
47
6
6
6
4
6
7
48
6
6
5
5
5
5
49
6
10
17
13
7
7
50
5
5
5
4
2
2
51
5
5
4
4
3
4
52
5
0
0
0
0
0
53
5
1
0
0
0
0
54
5
5
6
10
10
10
55
4
4
3
3
4
5
56
4
4
4
5
5
5
57
3
2
2
2
2
2
58
3
3
3
2
3
3
59
3
3
3
4
4
4
60
3
4
3
3
3
1
61
2
4
4
4
4
4
62
2
2
2
0
0
0
63
2
2
2
1
4
5
64
1
1
1
1
1
1
65
1
0
2
5
6
5
66
1
0
0
7
4
4
67
1
1
1
1
1
1
68
1
3
3
3
3
3
69
1
0
0
0
0
0
70
1
1
1
1
1
1
71
1
0
0
0
0
0
72
1
1
1
1
1
0
73
1
1
0
0
1
0
74
1
1
1
0
1
2
75
1
1
0
0
0
0
76
1
1
2
2
1
1
77
1
1
1
2
2
2
78
1
1
1
1
2
5
79
1
0
0
0
0
0
80
1
1
1
1
1
1
81
1
1
1
1
1
1
82
1
1
1
1
0
0
83
1
0
0
0
0
0
84
0
0
0
0
0
4
85
0
1
0
6
6
9
86
0
1
1
1
0
1
87
0
0
0
1
1
1
88
0
0
0
0
1
1
89
0
0
0
0
1
1
90
0
0
0
0
0
2
91
0
0
0
0
0
2
92
0
0
0
4
3
2
93
0
2
2
3
3
4
94
0
0
1
1
0
0
95
0
0
0
1
1
1
96
0
0
0
0
3
3
97
-
0
0
0
2
3
98
0
0
0
0
0
2
99
0
0
1
0
0
0
Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the most container ships?
Liberia recorded the most container ships in 2026 with 1,305 vessels, followed by Singapore (881) and China (797).
How many countries are included in the dataset?
The dataset covers 196 countries and territories, and the table lists the 99 countries that record any container ships in the period.
What does this indicator measure?
It counts the container ships 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 container ships?
Several countries recorded a single container ship in 2026, including Argentina, Canada, and New Zealand, while 14 countries recorded no container ships at all, including Cambodia, Mexico, and Syria.
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
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Updated: 11.08.2026https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/dataviewer/US.MerchantFleet
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