Morocco's industrial port complex Tanger Med has secured a spot among the top 20 container ports in the world, according to a March ranking by industry monitor Alphaliner, Tanger Med currently ranks 19th out of 500 container ports, up three spots from the previous ranking. This achievement places Morocco in the exclusive company of just 12 other countries with ports in the global top 20, including China, Singapore, Korea, the United States, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Notably, Morocco is the first African country to be part of this prestigious list. In 2023, Tanger Med surpassed major ports like New York and Hamburg, which currently rank 21st and 22nd globally, respectively, exceeding earlier predictions that placed its entry into the top 20 by 2027. At the European level, Tanger Med stands as the third-largest port, trailing only Rotterdam (13th) and Antwerp/Bruges (15th). Notably, no Spanish port features in the top 20. In 2022, the Port of Valencia ranked 30th globally, followed by Piraeus (Greece) at 31st and Algeciras at 42nd. The Alphaliner ranking also highlights Tanger Med's impressive performance in 2023, achieving the second-best annual growth (13.4%) among the world's top 20 ports, surpassed only by Qingdao (16.9%).
