Global port-city database

The main objective of the global port-city database is to assign ports of the world to cities. Ports and cities are complex entities, and so are their relationships. Assigning a port to “its” city might look trivial, but in many cases a port can be linked to several cities, and a city can have multiple ports. There are also ports without cities and cities without ports. This varies greatly according to the geographic scale of the analysis, and, of course, according to the research question that you are asking. Certain patterns can be found across the globe, which help to differentiate and categorize port cities.

The global port-city database can serve in various ways, such as the study of “urban” port hinterlands, the correlation between city size and port size depending on different indicators, and sea-land transport connectivity. This booklet explains the rationale and methodology used to construct the database, referring to examples from all over the world. At this stage, the database includes 21307 places, of which 15198 ports, and 7415 cities.