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How much of India’s trade passes through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait?

In 2024, an estimated $61 billion of India’s trade passed through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 8.5% of its seaborne trade. That is $28.2 billion of exports and $32.8 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia.

Summary

Estimated value
$61billion
Of its seaborne trade
8.5%
Exports
$28.2billion
Imports
$32.8billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

India’s estimated trade through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait fell 68% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • India 61

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$28.8 billion49.3%
1996$31.1 billion48.1%
1997$33.1 billion49.4%
1998$34 billion49.7%
1999$37.8 billion47.6%
2000$35.2 billion49.2%
2001$35.1 billion50.2%
2002$40.7 billion50.1%
2003$45 billion48%
2004$57.7 billion45.3%
2005$73.6 billion46.1%
2006$91.4 billion39.8%
2007$103.2 billion37.8%
2008$137.3 billion36.3%
2009$113.5 billion35.9%
2010$140 billion32.8%
2011$174.4 billion32.7%
2012$184 billion34.4%
2013$186.6 billion35.2%
2014$186.4 billion34.8%
2015$156.1 billion36.8%
2016$144.1 billion37.3%
2017$164.1 billion35.4%
2018$188.9 billion35.1%
2019$190.9 billion36.8%
2020$153 billion36.3%
2021$218.8 billion35.4%
2022$304.3 billion37.5%
2023$291.6 billion40.7%
2024$61 billion8.5%

Partners whose trade crosses it

Estimated value of its trade with each partner that crosses the chokepoint; the percentage is the share of all its trade through the chokepoint, not of the pair’s trade.

  1. India–Saudi Arabia$16 billion · 26.2%
  2. India–United States$8.5 billion · 13.9%
  3. India–Russia$7.5 billion · 12.4%
  4. India–Germany$3.1 billion · 5.1%
  5. India–Jordan$2.5 billion · 4.1%
  6. India–United Kingdom$2.2 billion · 3.6%
  7. India–Italy$1.6 billion · 2.7%
  8. India–Netherlands$1.5 billion · 2.5%
  9. India–France$1.4 billion · 2.3%
  10. India–Mexico$1.3 billion · 2.1%

What crosses it

The products with the highest estimated value in 2024, with their share of the total through the chokepoint.

  1. Crude petroleum$15.6 billion · 25.6%
  2. Refined petroleum$3.1 billion · 5.1%
  3. Natural gas and LPG$1.3 billion · 2.1%
  4. Rice$1.2 billion · 2%
  5. Cars$1.2 billion · 1.9%
  6. Auto parts$1.1 billion · 1.8%
  7. Coal$960 million · 1.6%
  8. Natural phosphates$900 million · 1.5%
  9. Mixed fertilizers$842 million · 1.4%
  10. Phosphoric acid$782 million · 1.3%

If it closes

  • India–United States: +3,350 nautical miles, ≈ 10 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • India–Russia: +7,812 nautical miles, ≈ 23.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
  • Germany–India: +4,504 nautical miles, ≈ 13.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover and the Cape of Good Hope
  • United Kingdom–India: +4,440 nautical miles, ≈ 13 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • India–Italy: +6,145 nautical miles, ≈ 18.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Gibraltar

Estimated sailing detour, without costs, waiting or port capacity.

Reference ports

Nhava Sheva (Mumbai) (100%)

Each port with the weight it receives from the country’s trade, based on where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest.

Other chokepoints it uses

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

We estimate the value crossing each chokepoint from BACI trade that travels by sea according to our mode heuristic, split between each country’s ports by where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest, and routed over our own sea network. It is an estimate, not a count of ships. It covers 99.9% of seaborne trade. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.

All maritime chokepoints