globaltraffic.earth

How much of Germany’s trade passes through the Kiel Canal?

In 2024, an estimated $172.5 billion of Germany’s trade passed through the Kiel Canal, 13.8% of its seaborne trade. That is $90.9 billion of exports and $81.6 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, Sweden and Finland.

Summary

Estimated value
$172.5billion
Of its seaborne trade
13.8%
Exports
$90.9billion
Imports
$81.6billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Germany’s estimated trade through the Kiel Canal rose 6% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Germany 173

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$53.3 billion14.5%
1996$55.5 billion14.4%
1997$57.9 billion14.2%
1998$59.2 billion14.4%
1999$58.8 billion14.1%
2000$61.8 billion14%
2001$63.8 billion14.2%
2002$67.2 billion13.9%
2003$77.8 billion13.9%
2004$92.6 billion14.3%
2005$105.2 billion14.4%
2006$122.2 billion14.5%
2007$140.3 billion14.8%
2008$153.3 billion15%
2009$115.7 billion14.7%
2010$139.3 billion14.7%
2011$165.3 billion15%
2012$153.4 billion14.7%
2013$157.6 billion14.7%
2014$162.3 billion14.7%
2015$144.9 billion14.3%
2016$143.9 billion14.4%
2017$158.5 billion14.7%
2018$170.5 billion14.8%
2019$162.5 billion14.5%
2020$149.2 billion14.7%
2021$177.2 billion14.6%
2022$188 billion13.9%
2023$179.6 billion13.8%
2024$172.5 billion13.8%

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. Germany–China$18.7 billion · 10.8%
  2. Germany–Sweden$15.8 billion · 9.2%
  3. Germany–Finland$14.6 billion · 8.5%
  4. Germany–Poland$14.1 billion · 8.2%
  5. Germany–Italy$14.1 billion · 8.2%
  6. Germany–Spain$8.8 billion · 5.1%
  7. Germany–United Kingdom$8.7 billion · 5.1%
  8. Germany–Hungary$5.5 billion · 3.2%
  9. Germany–Lithuania$5.4 billion · 3.1%
  10. Germany–Turkey$5.2 billion · 3%

What crosses it

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

  1. Cars$19.8 billion · 11.5%
  2. Auto parts$8.6 billion · 5%
  3. Refined petroleum$6.8 billion · 3.9%
  4. Crude petroleum$2.8 billion · 1.6%
  5. Batteries$2.7 billion · 1.6%
  6. Trucks$2 billion · 1.1%
  7. Cables and wire$2 billion · 1.1%
  8. Other plastic articles$1.8 billion · 1%
  9. Other industrial machines$1.5 billion · 0.88%
  10. Transmission shafts, gears and gearboxes$1.5 billion · 0.86%

If it closes

  • China–Germany: +262 nautical miles, ≈ 1 day more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait; the Suez Canal; the Strait of Gibraltar; and the Strait of Dover
  • Germany–Sweden: +230 nautical miles, ≈ 0.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Øresund
  • Germany–Finland: +230 nautical miles, ≈ 0.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Øresund
  • Germany–Poland: +250 nautical miles, ≈ 0.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Øresund
  • Germany–Italy: +260 nautical miles, ≈ 1 day more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover and the Strait of Gibraltar

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

Reference ports

Hamburg (88%) and Rostock (12%)

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.

The Kiel figure is the most sensitive to how trade is split between ports: it depends on how much of Germany’s trade is assigned to its Baltic ports, such as Rostock.

All maritime chokepoints