plate 002 · Power · 2025 data
China now builds more ships than everyone else combined
Share of the world's new ship tonnage by country of building, 2010–2025.
52.6%
China built more than half of the world's new ship tonnage (gross tonnage) in 2025, up from 38% in 2010.
14%
Japan's share fell from 21% to 14%. Europe now builds under 3%.
~0.1%
In 2023 the United States built a rounding error of the world's ships (indicative).
Source
S&P Global World Shipbuilding Statistics, via Shipbuilders' Association of Japan (2026) and MLIT Japan ·Data 2025 ·Fact
the numbers
| Year | China (%) | South Korea (%) | Japan (%) | Europe (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 38.0 | 33.0 | 21.0 | 4.0 |
| 2022 | 44.1 | 30.4 | 17.9 | 4.3 |
| 2025 | 52.6 | 27.6 | 14.0 | 2.8 |
source notes & method
Completions in gross tonnage. 2010 from MLIT citing IHS. US share (2023) from a single secondary chart: treat as indicative. Corrected 3 Nov 2026: title shortened to 10 words or fewer; no change to the data.
Published 15 Sep 2026
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