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Data for 2021

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021

2021, as UNCTAD’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021 covers 178 countries on 3 measures. Greece is highest, at 374,332.24; 15 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00. The middle country reads 218.97. Against 2020, 119 values changed (77 up, 42 down), the same countries are covered.

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Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership · Data for 2021

HighestGreece

374,332.24

Lowest15 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, 2021, 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, 2021: every country, as published by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
GreeceGRCSouthern Europe374,332.2417.657754,741
ChinaCHNEastern Asia249,116.8011.751177,781
JapanJPNEastern Asia241,039.4911.370164,021
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia142,292.306.712122,891
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia104,293.224.919651,752
South KoreaKOREastern Asia86,208.994.066591,641
GermanyDEUWestern Europe85,049.504.011902,373
NorwayNORNorthern Europe63,796.753.009382,055
United StatesUSANorthern America54,411.682.566671,804
United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe54,363.562.564401,321
TaiwanTWNEastern Asia53,383.602.518181,017
BermudaBMUNorthern America52,847.052.49287484
DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe42,228.021.99195925
MonacoMCOWestern Europe41,629.961.96374455
BelgiumBELWestern Europe30,572.811.44216326
TürkiyeTURWestern Asia28,018.381.321661,550
SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe27,215.641.28380420
IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia27,135.471.280022,371
United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia26,527.541.251341,077
IndiaINDSouthern Asia26,480.881.249141,094
RussiaRUSEastern Europe23,820.691.123651,810
CyprusCYPWestern Asia23,543.451.11058387
IranIRNSouthern Asia19,574.820.92337258
NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe18,385.000.867241,205
Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia16,912.480.79778266

02In 2021

At either end

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

Highest

  1. Greece374,332.24
  2. China249,116.80
  3. Japan241,039.49
  4. Singapore142,292.30
  5. Hong Kong104,293.22

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 218.97. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

  • Share of the world fleet (%)

    HighestGreece17.65775

    Lowest15 share it

    Middle country: 0.01033

  • Ships owned

    HighestChina7,781

    Lowest15 share it

    Middle country: 21

032020 → 2021

Since 2020

What changed between 2020 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 119values changed, of 178 in both
  • 77 · 42rose · fell
  • 59unchanged

Rose most

  • China231,610.89 → 249,116.80+17,505.91
  • Cyprus12,122.94 → 23,543.45+11,420.51
  • Japan231,756.77 → 241,039.49+9,282.71
  • Greece365,882.52 → 374,332.24+8,449.73
  • United Arab Emirates20,756.28 → 26,527.54+5,771.26

Fell most

  • Bermuda59,278.29 → 52,847.05−6,431.25
  • Germany88,815.09 → 85,049.50−3,765.59
  • United States56,865.80 → 54,411.68−2,454.12
  • Italy17,258.22 → 16,179.35−1,078.86
  • Belgium31,260.43 → 30,572.81−687.61

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 2021.

  • 164 distinct values among 178

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 15 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) (2021). Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021 [data set], describing 2021. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/merchant-fleet-ownership/2021

0613 held

Other years

07Questions

Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021: questions and answers

Which country has the highest merchant fleet ownership in Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021?

Greece, at 374,332.24, of the 178 countries in the file.

What year does Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021 describe?

2021.

How many countries does Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021 cover?

178.

Where can I download Merchant Fleet by Country of Ownership, 2021?

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, 2021 the newest?

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

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