The ranking of container ports established by the World Bank and S&P for the year 2021 ranks 23rd in sub-Saharan Africa. The Port of Cotonou is more efficient than many of its competitors in the sub-region.

With an index of 130.8, Cotonou is 348th out of 370 in the world, and 23rd. With this performance, Cotonou surpasses Lomé (349th), Nouakchott (356th), Lagos (358th), Abidjan (360th) and Pointe Noire (362nd). Indeed, the performance index for container ports is based on the total number of hours a ship spends at port, i.e. the time elapsing between arriving at the dock and leaving the berth, once the cargo exchange has been completed.

The Moroccan port of Tangier-Med is the highest ranked on the African continent. As for the port of Matadi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (171st), it is the most efficient in all of sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Berbera (184th) and Conakry (242nd). Luanda (366th) closes the ranking in subsahelian Africa.