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Data for 2020

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020

2020, as UNCTAD’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020 covers 178 countries on 3 measures. Greece is highest, at 365,882.52; 16 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00. The middle country reads 210.87. Against 2019, 123 values changed (78 up, 45 down), the same countries are covered.

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Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership · Data for 2020

HighestGreece

365,882.52

Lowest16 countries share it

0.00

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end. Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Showing 25 of 178 countries · select a heading to sort

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020: every country, as published by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
GreeceGRCSouthern Europe365,882.5217.807624,682
JapanJPNEastern Asia231,756.7711.279683,904
ChinaCHNEastern Asia231,610.8911.272587,189
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia140,792.556.852422,881
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia101,261.034.928411,709
GermanyDEUWestern Europe88,815.094.322662,484
South KoreaKOREastern Asia80,570.613.921401,626
NorwayNORNorthern Europe63,046.833.068512,062
BermudaBMUNorthern America59,278.292.88509529
United StatesUSANorthern America56,865.802.767681,896
United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe54,046.422.630461,327
TaiwanTWNEastern Asia51,187.122.491291,006
MonacoMCOWestern Europe42,285.482.05805452
DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe42,186.552.05323934
BelgiumBELWestern Europe31,260.431.52145349
TürkiyeTURWestern Asia28,128.081.369001,527
SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe26,257.941.27798426
IndiaINDSouthern Asia25,855.141.258381,061
IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia24,544.731.194602,269
RussiaRUSEastern Europe23,016.431.120221,760
United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia20,756.281.01021989
NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe19,003.740.924921,227
IranIRNSouthern Asia18,641.710.90730250
Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia17,478.180.85067267
ItalyITASouthern Europe17,258.220.83996664

02In 2020

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

  1. Greece365,882.52
  2. Japan231,756.77
  3. China231,610.89
  4. Singapore140,792.55
  5. Hong Kong101,261.03

Lowest

  1. Togoshared0.00
  2. Slovakiashared0.00
  3. Serbiashared0.00
  4. Solomon Islandsshared0.00
  5. Naurushared0.00

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 210.87. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

  • Share of the world fleet (%)

    HighestGreece17.80762

    Lowest16 share it

    Middle country: 0.01027

  • Ships owned

    HighestChina7,189

    Lowest16 share it

    Middle country: 19

032019 → 2020

Since 2019

What changed between 2019 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 123values changed, of 178 in both
  • 78 · 45rose · fell
  • 55unchanged

Rose most

  • China212,298.02 → 231,610.89+19,312.87
  • Greece347,681.95 → 365,882.52+18,200.56
  • Singapore126,994.25 → 140,792.55+13,798.30
  • Japan223,914.77 → 231,756.77+7,842.01
  • United Kingdom47,531.55 → 54,046.42+6,514.86

Fell most

  • Germany94,867.14 → 88,815.09−6,052.05
  • Bermuda60,674.46 → 59,278.29−1,396.17
  • Sweden6,587.70 → 5,830.63−757.07
  • Monaco43,042.08 → 42,285.48−756.60
  • Denmark42,902.16 → 42,186.55−715.60

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

  • One year of the 2026 release

    Every year in this series comes from UNCTAD’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 2020.

  • 163 distinct values among 178

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 16 countries share 0.00. Countries sharing a value share a position too.

  • Which end is better

    Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

  • Nothing missing

    Every one of the 178 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO. The version of CC BY written for intergovernmental organisations. Credit the publisher and say what you changed.

Cite this edition

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2020). Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020 [data set], describing 2020. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/merchant-fleet-ownership/2020

0613 held

Other years

07Questions

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020: questions and answers

Which country has the highest merchant fleet ownership in Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020?

Greece, at 365,882.52, of the 178 countries in the file.

What year does Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020 describe?

2020.

How many countries does Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020 cover?

178.

Where can I download Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2020 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2026.

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