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How much of Belgium’s trade passes through the Cape of Good Hope?

In 2024, an estimated $41.7 billion of Belgium’s trade passed through the Cape of Good Hope, 12.1% of its seaborne trade. That is $12.7 billion of exports and $29 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, Japan and India.

Summary

Estimated value
$41.7billion
Of its seaborne trade
12.1%
Exports
$12.7billion
Imports
$29billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Belgium’s estimated trade through the Cape of Good Hope rose 1,865% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Belgium 41.7

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$1.3 billion0.9%
1996$1.3 billion0.9%
1997$1.2 billion0.8%
1998$1.2 billion0.7%
1999$1.3 billion0.8%
2000$1.3 billion0.8%
2001$1.5 billion0.9%
2002$1.7 billion1%
2003$1.5 billion0.8%
2004$2.1 billion0.9%
2005$2.4 billion0.9%
2006$2.7 billion0.9%
2007$2.6 billion0.8%
2008$2.8 billion0.8%
2009$2 billion0.8%
2010$1.8 billion0.7%
2011$1.8 billion0.6%
2012$2 billion0.7%
2013$2 billion0.7%
2014$1.9 billion0.7%
2015$1.9 billion0.8%
2016$1.8 billion0.7%
2017$1.9 billion0.7%
2018$2.5 billion0.8%
2019$2.1 billion0.7%
2020$1.6 billion0.6%
2021$2.2 billion0.7%
2022$2.6 billion0.7%
2023$2.2 billion0.6%
2024$41.7 billion12.1%

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. Belgium–China$13.1 billion · 31.5%
  2. Belgium–Japan$6.6 billion · 15.9%
  3. Belgium–India$3.1 billion · 7.4%
  4. Belgium–South Korea$2.7 billion · 6.6%
  5. Belgium–Australia$2.1 billion · 5%
  6. Belgium–South Africa$2.1 billion · 4.9%
  7. Belgium–Taiwan$1.1 billion · 2.7%
  8. Belgium–Qatar$1.1 billion · 2.7%
  9. Belgium–United Arab Emirates$1 billion · 2.5%
  10. Belgium–Thailand$959 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. Cars$6.9 billion · 16.5%
  2. Refined petroleum$1.8 billion · 4.3%
  3. Natural gas and LPG$1.2 billion · 2.9%
  4. Auto parts$961 million · 2.3%
  5. Batteries$656 million · 1.6%
  6. Bulldozers and excavators$592 million · 1.4%
  7. Trucks$544 million · 1.3%
  8. Rapeseed (canola)$449 million · 1.1%
  9. Coal$434 million · 1%
  10. Cargo and cruise ships$404 million · 0.97%

Reference ports

Antwerp (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.

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