First port · January–August 2026
67.5 million tonnes
System · January–August 2026
373 million tonnes
August 2026 only
47.5 million tonnes
What the data say · August 2026
Bahía de Algeciras ranks first among port authorities with 67.5 million tonnes in the year to August 2026 (virtually the same as a year earlier). It is followed by Valencia (53.1 million) and Barcelona (47.5 million). Together, the three account for 45.1% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bahía de Cádiz (+11.7%), Málaga (+11.6%) and Castellón (+11.2%); the steepest falls by Gijón (−20.7%), Valencia (−2.3%) and A Coruña (−1.8%). The comparison is limited to port authorities that account for at least 1% of the total, so that an extreme swing at a small player does not distort the picture.
The rest of the top ten are Las Palmas (4th, 24.4 million, −0.4%), Cartagena (5th, 23.3 million, +5.1%), Bilbao (6th, 22.6 million, +7.8%), Huelva (7th, 20.2 million, +2.6%), Tarragona (8th, 20.2 million, +5.9%), Castellón (9th, 13.5 million, +11.2%) and Baleares (10th, 12 million, −0.5%).
At the bottom of the table are Ceuta (1.49 million), Vilagarcía (1.05 million) and Melilla (382,132 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is concentrated: the top five account for 57.9% of the total and 10 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 18.4%. 18 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew year on year, 4 of them by double digits, and 10 fell.
Spanish ports handled 373 million tonnes of total traffic in the year to August 2026, 1.1% more than in the same period of 2025. In August alone, the figure was 47.5 million tonnes, 6% more than in August 2025.
In August, 19 of the 28 port authorities with data improved on their August 2025 figure.
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · year to date 2026
What this indicator measures
The ranking orders the 28 port authorities by tonnes accumulated over the year, which is the most stable comparison: a single month can swing because of one large call or a refinery shutdown. The share shows what part of the system each port represents, and the change compares with the same period of the previous year.
Full table · 28 port authorities
| # | Port authorities | Jan–Aug 2026 | YoY change | August | Monthly change | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahía de Algeciras | 67.5 M | 0.0% | 8.54 M | +4.3% | 18.1% | Port |
| 2 | Valencia | 53.1 M | −2.3% | 6.46 M | −1.8% | 14.2% | Port |
| 3 | Barcelona | 47.5 M | +1.3% | 5.76 M | −3.3% | 12.7% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 24.4 M | −0.4% | 3.28 M | +7.6% | 6.5% | Port |
| 5 | Cartagena | 23.3 M | +5.1% | 3.01 M | −0.3% | 6.3% | Port |
| 6 | Bilbao | 22.6 M | +7.8% | 2.71 M | +1.0% | 6.1% | Port |
| 7 | Huelva | 20.2 M | +2.6% | 3.09 M | +36.8% | 5.4% | Port |
| 8 | Tarragona | 20.2 M | +5.9% | 2.5 M | +6.0% | 5.4% | Port |
| 9 | Castellón | 13.5 M | +11.2% | 1.71 M | +30.0% | 3.6% | Port |
| 10 | Baleares | 12 M | −0.5% | 1.55 M | +2.1% | 3.2% | Port |
| 11 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 9.26 M | −1.8% | 1.1 M | +11.3% | 2.5% | Port |
| 12 | A Coruña | 8.85 M | −1.8% | 1.25 M | 0.0% | 2.4% | Port |
| 13 | Gijón | 8.74 M | −20.7% | 1.46 M | +52.1% | 2.3% | Port |
| 14 | Santander | 4.82 M | +3.7% | 695,590 | +27.0% | 1.3% | Port |
| 15 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 4.76 M | +4.4% | 570,439 | −2.3% | 1.3% | Port |
| 16 | Almería | 4.25 M | +4.6% | 382,821 | −8.7% | 1.1% | Port |
| 17 | Málaga | 4.04 M | +11.6% | 428,809 | −4.4% | 1.1% | Port |
| 18 | Bahía de Cádiz | 3.87 M | +11.7% | 570,041 | +19.5% | 1.0% | Port |
| 19 | Vigo | 3.58 M | −0.2% | 413,466 | +11.7% | 1.0% | Port |
| 20 | Avilés | 2.97 M | −3.1% | 357,174 | +4.8% | 0.8% | Port |
| 21 | Sevilla | 2.78 M | +1.7% | 413,907 | +19.0% | 0.7% | Port |
| 22 | Pasaia | 2.29 M | +1.3% | 213,609 | −6.7% | 0.6% | Port |
| 23 | Alicante | 2.24 M | +22.8% | 253,277 | +1.9% | 0.6% | Port |
| 24 | Motril | 1.66 M | −14.0% | 156,132 | −12.8% | 0.4% | Port |
| 25 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 1.57 M | +8.8% | 242,145 | +96.3% | 0.4% | Port |
| 26 | Ceuta | 1.49 M | +6.1% | 204,216 | +8.8% | 0.4% | Port |
| 27 | Vilagarcía | 1.05 M | +2.4% | 119,523 | −11.5% | 0.3% | Port |
| 28 | Melilla | 382,132 | +6.8% | 58,075 | +42.5% | 0.1% | Port |
Context
The top of the ranking is highly concentrated: Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona together handle almost half of national traffic. Behind them comes a group of energy and industrial ports (Cartagena, Huelva, Tarragona, Bilbao) whose figures depend on refineries, regasification plants and steelworks, followed by a long tail of regional ports handling under five million tonnes a year.
Frequently asked questions
Which Spanish port ranks first by traffic?
Bahía de Algeciras, with 67.5 million tonnes in the year to August 2026, 18.1% of the total.
Which three ports top the ranking?
Bahía de Algeciras (67.5 million), Valencia (53.1 million) and Barcelona (47.5 million) in the year to August 2026.
How often does the ranking change?
Puertos del Estado publishes the data every month. Latest data available: August 2026.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · monthly data or see the original source.