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

In 2024, an estimated $6.5 billion of Hong Kong’s trade passed through the Strait of Dover, 7.5% of its seaborne trade. That is $2.5 billion of exports and $4 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Summary

Estimated value
$6.5billion
Of its seaborne trade
7.5%
Exports
$2.5billion
Imports
$4billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Hong Kong’s estimated trade through the Strait of Dover fell 20% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Hong Kong 6.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$11.9 billion9.4%
1996$12.3 billion9.8%
1997$13.1 billion10.2%
1998$11.9 billion10.6%
1999$11.9 billion11.2%
2000$9.6 billion9.4%
2001$9 billion9.7%
2002$9.1 billion9.8%
2003$9.5 billion10%
2004$10.4 billion10%
2005$10.9 billion9.9%
2006$11.7 billion9.9%
2007$10.3 billion9.1%
2008$10.3 billion9%
2009$10.3 billion9.6%
2010$9.3 billion7.2%
2011$11.1 billion7.6%
2012$9.6 billion6.5%
2013$10.8 billion8.4%
2014$11.7 billion8.7%
2015$10.1 billion9.4%
2016$10.3 billion10%
2017$10.5 billion9.5%
2018$9.3 billion8.1%
2019$8.1 billion8.2%
2020$7.2 billion8.8%
2021$8.1 billion8.6%
2022$7 billion8.4%
2023$6.8 billion8.9%
2024$6.5 billion7.5%

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. Hong Kong–Germany$2.4 billion · 36.6%
  2. Hong Kong–Netherlands$1.4 billion · 21.6%
  3. Hong Kong–Switzerland$725 million · 11.1%
  4. Hong Kong–Belgium$393 million · 6%
  5. Hong Kong–Norway$298 million · 4.6%
  6. Hong Kong–Luxembourg$295 million · 4.5%
  7. Hong Kong–Poland$250 million · 3.8%
  8. Hong Kong–Sweden$238 million · 3.7%
  9. Hong Kong–Russia$188 million · 2.9%
  10. Hong Kong–Denmark$148 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. Gemstones$497 million · 7.6%
  2. Cars$346 million · 5.3%
  3. Cargo and cruise ships$219 million · 3.4%
  4. Other food preparations$173 million · 2.7%
  5. Powdered and condensed milk$127 million · 2%
  6. Paintings and drawings$126 million · 1.9%
  7. Aluminum scrap$120 million · 1.8%
  8. Makeup and skin care$118 million · 1.8%
  9. Sculptures$115 million · 1.8%
  10. Transformers and power supplies$112 million · 1.7%

Reference ports

Hong Kong (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