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

In 2024, an estimated $5.5 billion of Pakistan’s trade passed through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 7.7% of its seaborne trade. That is $3.2 billion of exports and $2.3 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Saudi Arabia, the United States and Germany.

Summary

Estimated value
$5.5billion
Of its seaborne trade
7.7%
Exports
$3.2billion
Imports
$2.3billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Pakistan’s estimated trade through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait fell 76% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Pakistan 5.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$6.1 billion49.7%
1996$6.3 billion49.7%
1997$5.9 billion49.4%
1998$5.7 billion49.4%
1999$5.5 billion50.2%
2000$6 billion49.5%
2001$6.2 billion51.1%
2002$7.2 billion53.3%
2003$10.2 billion45.8%
2004$11.8 billion46.2%
2005$15 billion44.2%
2006$15.4 billion40.2%
2007$16.3 billion40.4%
2008$20.4 billion38.5%
2009$16.6 billion40.9%
2010$17.1 billion35.7%
2011$19.5 billion33.7%
2012$17.7 billion32%
2013$17.8 billion32.3%
2014$20.1 billion34.7%
2015$18.6 billion36.1%
2016$19.4 billion37.6%
2017$21.7 billion35.8%
2018$23.4 billion35%
2019$23.2 billion39.3%
2020$22.6 billion41.5%
2021$28.5 billion35.1%
2022$31.4 billion35.8%
2023$26.7 billion36.8%
2024$5.5 billion7.7%

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. Pakistan–Saudi Arabia$1.5 billion · 28%
  2. Pakistan–United States$740 million · 13.4%
  3. Pakistan–Germany$475 million · 8.6%
  4. Pakistan–United Kingdom$413 million · 7.5%
  5. Pakistan–Spain$259 million · 4.7%
  6. Pakistan–France$238 million · 4.3%
  7. Pakistan–Italy$206 million · 3.7%
  8. Pakistan–Netherlands$189 million · 3.4%
  9. Pakistan–Poland$155 million · 2.8%
  10. Pakistan–Turkey$127 million · 2.3%

What crosses it

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

  1. Crude petroleum$951 million · 17.2%
  2. Bed, table and kitchen linen$590 million · 10.7%
  3. Men's suits and trousers$326 million · 5.9%
  4. Rice$231 million · 4.2%
  5. Women's suits and dresses$218 million · 3.9%
  6. Sweaters and pullovers$199 million · 3.6%
  7. Ferrous scrap$113 million · 2.1%
  8. Socks and tights$97 million · 1.8%
  9. T-shirts$86 million · 1.6%
  10. Mixed fertilizers$79 million · 1.4%

If it closes

  • Pakistan–United States: +3,707 nautical miles, ≈ 11 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • Germany–Pakistan: +4,878 nautical miles, ≈ 14.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover and the Cape of Good Hope
  • United Kingdom–Pakistan: +4,874 nautical miles, ≈ 14.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • Spain–Pakistan: +5,820 nautical miles, ≈ 17.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope
  • France–Pakistan: +6,265 nautical miles, ≈ 18.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope

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

Reference ports

Karachi (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