First port in Africa · PLSCI index
575.6 points
Ports in Africa with an index
103 ports
What the data say · Q3 2026
Tanger Med (Morocco) ranks first among ports in Africa with 575.6 points in the third quarter of 2026 (3.3% more than a year earlier). It is followed by Alexandria (Egypt) (336.3 points) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) (334.7 points).
The largest increases were recorded by Lamu (Kenya) (+110.8%), Agadir (Morocco) (+71.1%) and Tin Can Island (Nigeria) (+46.7%); the steepest falls by Abu Qir (Egypt) (−25.4%), Pointe des Galets (Réunion) (−22.5%) and Port Louis (Mauritius) (−14.7%).
The rest of the top ten are Tema (Ghana) (4th, 312.2 points, −0.6%), Port Said (Egypt) (5th, 302.3 points, −4.8%), Lome (Togo) (6th, 278.1 points, −0.3%), Damietta (Egypt) (7th, 248.9 points, +19.2%), Djibouti (8th, 234.4 points, +41.6%), Durban (South Africa) (9th, 230.1 points, +8.5%) and Casablanca (Morocco) (10th, 220.8 points, +1.6%).
UNCTAD publishes a connectivity index for 103 ports in Africa in the third quarter of 2026; this page ranks the top 50. The index measures container services, carriers, capacity and direct connections, not the tonnes or TEU each port handles.
The port in tenth place has 220.8 points and the one in 50th place, 51.9 points. Of the 50 ports in the table with a comparison, 28 have a higher index than a year earlier and 22 a lower or unchanged one.
By country, the top twenty positions break down as follows: Egypt (4), Morocco (2) and South Africa (2); the remaining 12 positions go to 12 different countries.
For reference, Valencia, the best-connected Spanish port, has 568.7 points and ranks 27th in the world; Tanger Med ranks 26th.
Top 10 · Ports in Africa by connectivity index (PLSCI) · Q3 2026
What this indicator measures
UNCTAD’s Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (PLSCI) ranks ports every quarter by how well they are connected to the global network of container services: number of services and carriers, deployed capacity, size of the largest ship and ports with a direct connection. Its base is 100 for the world average in the first quarter of 2023. It is not a ranking by TEU: it measures how many transport options a port offers, not how much cargo it handles, although the large container ports tend to be near the top of both lists.
Full table · 50 ports in Africa
| # | Ports in Africa | PLSCI index | YoY change | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanger Med (Morocco) | 575.6 | +3.3% | 26th |
| 2 | Alexandria (Egypt) | 336.3 | −11.4% | 55th |
| 3 | Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) | 334.7 | +9.5% | 56th |
| 4 | Tema (Ghana) | 312.2 | −0.6% | 62nd |
| 5 | Port Said (Egypt) | 302.3 | −4.8% | 68th |
| 6 | Lome (Togo) | 278.1 | −0.3% | 76th |
| 7 | Damietta (Egypt) | 248.9 | +19.2% | 91st |
| 8 | Djibouti | 234.4 | +41.6% | 97th |
| 9 | Durban (South Africa) | 230.1 | +8.5% | 99th |
| 10 | Casablanca (Morocco) | 220.8 | +1.6% | 104th |
| 11 | Pointe Noire (Congo - Brazzaville) | 211.2 | +17.7% | 111th |
| 12 | Mombasa (Kenya) | 191.2 | +0.3% | 128th |
| 13 | Cape Town (South Africa) | 186.7 | +17.2% | 134th |
| 14 | El Sokhna (Egypt) | 184.7 | +14.6% | 136th |
| 15 | Kribi (Cameroon) | 172.9 | +11.2% | 142nd |
| 16 | Cotonou (Benin) | 168.8 | +13.0% | 154th |
| 17 | Walvis Bay (Namibia) | 158.9 | +11.0% | 169th |
| 18 | Port Louis (Mauritius) | 153.5 | −14.7% | 177th |
| 19 | Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) | 153.2 | +4.9% | 178th |
| 20 | Dakar (Senegal) | 150.8 | −8.9% | 181st |
| 21 | Apapa (Nigeria) | 138 | +19.0% | 192nd |
| 22 | Luanda (Angola) | 136.6 | +1.6% | 196th |
| 23 | Tin Can Island (Nigeria) | 130.1 | +46.7% | 207th |
| 24 | Misurata (Libya) | 126.2 | −7.5% | 209th |
| 25 | Onne (Nigeria) | 124.6 | +15.6% | 211th |
| 26 | El Dekheila (Egypt) | 123.6 | +27.6% | 212th |
| 27 | Algiers (Algeria) | 122.5 | +3.4% | 215th |
| 28 | Lekki (Nigeria) | 112.8 | −6.0% | 229th |
| 29 | Pointe des Galets (Réunion) | 108.3 | −22.5% | 234th |
| 30 | Abu Qir (Egypt) | 107.1 | −25.4% | 240th |
| 31 | Coega (South Africa) | 105.8 | +27.2% | 241st |
| 32 | Maputo (Mozambique) | 97.9 | −1.9% | 253rd |
| 33 | Port Elizabeth (South Africa) | 94.7 | −12.5% | 265th |
| 34 | Benghazi (Libya) | 94.3 | +40.5% | 267th |
| 35 | Lagos (Nigeria) | 93 | −2.6% | 274th |
| 36 | Douala (Cameroon) | 89 | −7.2% | 281st |
| 37 | Nouakchott (Mauritania) | 75.5 | +7.8% | 307th |
| 38 | Lamu (Kenya) | 73.4 | +110.8% | 311th |
| 39 | Nacala (Mozambique) | 71.7 | +6.5% | 317th |
| 40 | Beira (Mozambique) | 67.7 | −10.8% | 330th |
| 41 | Port Sudan (Sudan) | 65.3 | −13.8% | 340th |
| 42 | Agadir (Morocco) | 63.8 | +71.1% | 347th |
| 43 | Freetown (Sierra Leone) | 59.7 | −1.6% | 363rd |
| 44 | Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) | 57.9 | −1.0% | 370th |
| 45 | Annaba (Algeria) | 56.4 | −3.3% | 374th |
| 46 | Oran (Algeria) | 54.3 | +2.7% | 386th |
| 47 | San Pedro (CI) (Côte d’Ivoire) | 54.2 | +20.5% | 387th |
| 48 | Skikda (Algeria) | 53.8 | −9.6% | 389th |
| 49 | Conakry (Guinea) | 52.4 | −11.2% | 392nd |
| 50 | Bata (Equatorial Guinea) | 51.9 | −1.1% | 397th |
Context
Tanger Med, opposite Algeciras, is Africa’s best-connected port and a transhipment point between Europe, West Africa and the Americas. It is followed by Egypt’s Suez Canal and Mediterranean ports and by the large West African ports, such as Abidjan, Tema and Lomé, where carriers concentrate the calls of their largest ships.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best-connected port in Africa?
Tanger Med (Morocco), with 575.6 points in the third quarter of 2026.
Which three ports hold the top positions?
Tanger Med (Morocco) (575.6 points), Alexandria (Egypt) (336.3 points) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) (334.7 points) in the third quarter of 2026.
Where do Spanish ports rank?
None: the list only includes ports in Africa. For reference, Valencia, the best-connected Spanish port, has 568.7 points and ranks 27th in the world.
When is this data updated?
UNCTAD publishes the data every quarter. Latest data available: Q3 2026.
Source
UNCTAD. To explore the data in detail, use Connectivity · port ranking or see the original source.