Shipbuilding by Country

Shipbuilding by country measures the gross tonnage of commercial ships built in each country, expressed in gross tons (GT). Gross tonnage reflects the total enclosed volume of a vessel. The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database. The data cover 51 countries and territories that report shipbuilding output in the period, and their combined output stood at 77,228,055 GT in 2025.

Countries With the Largest Shipbuilding Output in 2025

China recorded the highest shipbuilding output in 2025 at 41,595,055 GT. South Korea ranked second with 21,131,905 GT, followed by Japan (10,116,457), Vietnam (892,040), and Italy (647,783). The Philippines (639,475), Germany (434,320), France (408,810), Finland (296,657), and Russia (212,207) complete the top ten.

Shipbuilding by Country

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#	Country	Latest Data (GT)	Year
1	China CN	41,595,055	2025
2	South Korea KR	21,131,905	2025
3	Japan JP	10,116,457	2025
4	Vietnam VN	892,040	2025
5	Italy IT	647,783	2025
6	Philippines PH	639,475	2025
7	Germany DE	434,320	2025
8	France FR	408,810	2025
9	Finland FI	296,657	2025
10	Russia RU	212,207	2025
11	Indonesia ID	187,404	2025
12	Türkiye TR	151,891	2025
13	Netherlands NL	108,510	2025
14	Norway NO	59,489	2025
15	India IN	57,637	2025
16	Romania RO	54,355	2025
17	Poland PL	48,627	2025
18	Malaysia MY	47,043	2025
19	United States US	25,172	2025
20	Croatia HR	23,786	2025
21	Spain ES	21,361	2025
22	Bangladesh BD	12,119	2025
23	Sri Lanka LK	10,476	2025
24	Portugal PT	9,923	2025
25	United Arab Emirates AE	8,499	2025
26	Singapore SG	6,254	2025
27	Greece GR	5,522	2025
28	Hong Kong HK	4,928	2025
29	Mexico MX	4,469	2025
30	Brazil BR	1836	2025
31	Iran IR	1394	2025
32	Egypt EG	1209	2025
33	United Kingdom GB	343	2025
34	Denmark DK	331	2025
35	Taiwan TW	326	2025
36	Estonia EE	277	2025
37	Australia AU	165	2025
38	Azerbaijan AZ	0	2025
39	Canada CA	0	2025
40	Chile CL	0	2025
41	Colombia CO	0	2025
42	Lithuania LT	0	2025
43	Mauritius MU	0	2025
44	New Zealand NZ	0	2025
45	Paraguay PY	0	2025
46	Saudi Arabia SA	0	2025
47	South Africa ZA	0	2025
48	Sweden SE	0	2025
49	Thailand TH	0	2025
50	Ukraine UA	0	2025
51	Venezuela VE	0	2025

Shipbuilding is far more concentrated than fleet registration. China alone accounts for about 54 percent of the gross tonnage built in 2025, and the top five countries together account for about 96 percent. Only China, South Korea, and Japan recorded more than one million GT, while 13 countries recorded more than 100,000 GT.

Shipbuilding Around the World

In Asia, China (41,595,055 GT) leads shipbuilding by a wide margin, ahead of South Korea (21,131,905), Japan (10,116,457), and Vietnam (892,040). The Philippines (639,475) and Indonesia (187,404) follow, while India (57,637), Malaysia (47,043), and Sri Lanka (10,476) are smaller.

In Europe, Italy (647,783 GT) leads shipbuilding, ahead of Germany (434,320), France (408,810), and Finland (296,657). Russia (212,207) and Türkiye (151,891) follow, while the Netherlands (108,510), Norway (59,489), and Romania (54,355) record smaller output.

In the Americas, the United States (25,172) records the most shipbuilding activity, followed by Mexico (4,469) and Brazil (1,836), while Canada and Chile reported no output in 2025. In Africa, Egypt (1,209) records the largest output, while shipbuilding activity is negligible elsewhere on the continent.

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates (8,499) records the largest shipbuilding output, ahead of Iran (1,394). In Oceania, Australia (165) records the only shipbuilding activity, while New Zealand reported none in 2025.

Largest Changes in Shipbuilding, 2020–2025

China recorded the largest increase between 2020 and 2025, rising from 23,257,200 to 41,595,055 GT (up 18,337,855). South Korea added 2,958,014, Vietnam 347,341, and France 276,669. Indonesia added 151,016, Germany 146,092, and Italy 129,547.

Japan recorded the largest decline, down 2,710,918 to 10,116,457 GT, followed by Bangladesh (down 73,230) and the United States (down 46,117). Russia declined by 29,636, and Norway by 17,153.

Shipbuilding by Country

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#	Country	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
1	China	23,257,200	26,863,204	25,893,611	32,859,862	39,118,358	41,595,055
2	South Korea	18,173,891	19,687,307	16,254,013	18,317,886	20,090,872	21,131,905
3	Japan	12,827,375	10,726,209	9,585,299	9,965,182	9,002,442	10,116,457
4	Philippines	608,211	643,456	395,586	805,938	668,207	639,475
5	Vietnam	544,699	372,492	444,033	513,080	720,884	892,040
6	Italy	518,236	498,889	730,956	402,164	455,590	647,783
7	Taiwan	302,617	179,971	496	187,558	37,346	326
8	Germany	288,228	382,735	320,581	289,666	189,970	434,320
9	Russia	241,843	135,694	251,722	177,571	97,695	212,207
10	Finland	181,808	221,100	244,767	261,654	162,177	296,657
11	France	132,141	177,290	593,546	326,680	289,196	408,810
12	Netherlands	109,164	117,900	78,508	90,596	142,935	108,510
13	Türkiye	103,119	132,471	77,700	79,032	83,437	151,891
14	Bangladesh	85,349	37,954	41,995	36,919	5,478	12,119
15	Norway	76,642	147,257	76,738	27,709	28,443	59,489
16	United States	71,289	32,343	72,679	64,809	30,782	25,172
17	Indonesia	36,388	64,473	42,661	75,979	99,345	187,404
18	Romania	35,783	70,560	25,000	465	22,233	54,355
19	Croatia	35,613	26,415	80,759	18,594	0	23,786
20	Spain	26,878	24,942	47,400	22,829	64,327	21,361
21	Malaysia	21,697	20,919	27,769	29,543	38,789	47,043
22	India	21,251	72,137	39,997	40,459	40,923	57,637
23	Poland	13,839	17,033	2,693	474	571	48,627
24	Australia	11,497	18,939	3,718	4,301	663	165
25	Singapore	9,667	7,725	157,798	33,599	160,460	6,254
26	Azerbaijan	8,728	5,371	13,894	0	5,371	0
27	Portugal	7,823	9,923	9,934	225	0	9,923
28	United Arab Emirates	3,544	5,043	3,144	6,800	2,798	8,499
29	Colombia	-	-	3,500	163	0	0
30	Brazil	2,982	0	9,292	2,186	5,287	1836
31	Egypt	2,364	3,990	926	1328	19,297	1209
32	United Kingdom	711	15,609	0	0	7,392	343
33	Thailand	542	0	1164	360	0	0
34	Hong Kong	492	970	542	0	9,982	4,928
35	South Africa	225	455	231	335	0	0
36	New Zealand	174	0	0	0	0	0
37	Venezuela	-	-	-	-	101	0
38	Canada	0	140	130	0	0	0
39	Chile	0	0	1423	0	2025	0
40	Denmark	0	925	0	474	0	331
41	Estonia	0	0	102	400	101	277
42	Greece	0	4,312	732	686	4,918	5,522
43	Iran	0	1076	794	64,760	1881	1394
44	Lithuania	0	7,984	0	0	0	0
45	Mauritius	0	0	0	878	0	0
46	Mexico	0	0	938	0	469	4,469
47	Paraguay	0	962	0	0	0	0
48	Saudi Arabia	0	0	0	0	1493	0
49	Sri Lanka	0	2,976	3,607	14,984	10,476	10,476
50	Sweden	0	0	105	0	0	0
51	Ukraine	0	0	792	3,739	0	0

Methodology

The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database, indicator Shipbuilding, which measures the gross tonnage of commercial ships built in each country, in gross tons (GT). Values refer to output completed during each calendar year. The main comparison uses 2025 data, the latest year available in the source. Countries with no shipbuilding output in any year of the period are excluded from the table. In the table, a zero represents no shipbuilding output, while an empty cell means that no value was reported; the two are never mixed up in the calculations.