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How much of Denmark’s trade passes through the Strait of Dover?

In 2024, an estimated $51.1 billion of Denmark’s trade passed through the Strait of Dover, 36.5% of its seaborne trade. That is $22.2 billion of exports and $28.8 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, Italy and Spain.

Summary

Estimated value
$51.1billion
Of its seaborne trade
36.5%
Exports
$22.2billion
Imports
$28.8billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Denmark’s estimated trade through the Strait of Dover rose 15% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Denmark 51.1

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$17.1 billion34.4%
1996$16.9 billion32.9%
1997$15.8 billion31.4%
1998$17.3 billion33%
1999$17.8 billion33.5%
2000$18.1 billion33.4%
2001$18.4 billion33.3%
2002$19.7 billion32.8%
2003$23.5 billion33.6%
2004$28.2 billion34%
2005$30.6 billion33.1%
2006$33.1 billion32.4%
2007$37.6 billion33.2%
2008$42.1 billion32.2%
2009$33.9 billion34.8%
2010$35.4 billion34.6%
2011$41.5 billion34.5%
2012$39 billion34.6%
2013$41.3 billion35%
2014$44.1 billion37.2%
2015$38.4 billion37.9%
2016$37.1 billion36.7%
2017$41.5 billion37.5%
2018$46 billion37.2%
2019$44.5 billion37.6%
2020$41.9 billion37.2%
2021$54 billion38.4%
2022$53.1 billion36.8%
2023$51 billion35.9%
2024$51.1 billion36.5%

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. Denmark–China$10.3 billion · 20.2%
  2. Denmark–Italy$5.6 billion · 10.9%
  3. Denmark–Spain$3.9 billion · 7.6%
  4. Denmark–South Korea$2.8 billion · 5.5%
  5. Denmark–France$2.4 billion · 4.8%
  6. Denmark–Turkey$2.2 billion · 4.4%
  7. Denmark–India$1.4 billion · 2.8%
  8. Denmark–Hungary$1.3 billion · 2.6%
  9. Denmark–Austria$1.3 billion · 2.6%
  10. Denmark–Japan$1.3 billion · 2.5%

What crosses it

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

  1. Cargo and cruise ships$2.2 billion · 4.3%
  2. Cars$1.4 billion · 2.8%
  3. Pork$1.4 billion · 2.7%
  4. Refined petroleum$1.3 billion · 2.5%
  5. Cheese$995 million · 2%
  6. Enzymes$893 million · 1.8%
  7. Valves and taps$742 million · 1.5%
  8. Other food preparations$670 million · 1.3%
  9. Generating sets$659 million · 1.3%
  10. Sweaters and pullovers$643 million · 1.3%

Reference ports

Aarhus (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