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

In 2024, an estimated $251.3 billion of Italy’s trade passed through the Strait of Dover, 34.1% of its seaborne trade. That is $114.4 billion of exports and $136.9 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.

Summary

Estimated value
$251.3billion
Of its seaborne trade
34.1%
Exports
$114.4billion
Imports
$136.9billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

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

Value in USD billions

  • Italy 251

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$98.1 billion39.7%
1996$100.7 billion38.4%
1997$99.4 billion37.2%
1998$104.4 billion38.1%
1999$105.9 billion38.8%
2000$106.1 billion36.4%
2001$106.8 billion36.5%
2002$111.2 billion36.1%
2003$128.1 billion35.9%
2004$149 billion35.2%
2005$161 billion34.9%
2006$183.3 billion34.5%
2007$216.9 billion35.1%
2008$232.5 billion34.2%
2009$180 billion35.6%
2010$202 billion33.9%
2011$233.2 billion34.3%
2012$200.8 billion32.8%
2013$205.2 billion33.6%
2014$213.3 billion34.4%
2015$186.1 billion34%
2016$189.1 billion34.5%
2017$210.2 billion34.4%
2018$230.6 billion34.5%
2019$219.2 billion34.9%
2020$197.4 billion36.5%
2021$259.5 billion36%
2022$280.3 billion33.5%
2023$274.7 billion34.7%
2024$251.3 billion34.1%

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. Italy–Germany$117.3 billion · 46.7%
  2. Italy–Netherlands$33 billion · 13.1%
  3. Italy–Poland$30.2 billion · 12%
  4. Italy–Belgium$22.7 billion · 9%
  5. Italy–Czechia$15.1 billion · 6%
  6. Italy–Sweden$8.6 billion · 3.4%
  7. Italy–Norway$5.9 billion · 2.4%
  8. Italy–Denmark$5.6 billion · 2.2%
  9. Italy–Finland$3.8 billion · 1.5%
  10. Italy–Russia$2.6 billion · 1%

What crosses it

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

  1. Cars$18.7 billion · 7.4%
  2. Auto parts$10.1 billion · 4%
  3. Cheese$3.9 billion · 1.5%
  4. Natural gas and LPG$3.5 billion · 1.4%
  5. Trucks$3.3 billion · 1.3%
  6. Other plastic articles$2.9 billion · 1.1%
  7. Valves and taps$2.8 billion · 1.1%
  8. Transformers and power supplies$2.7 billion · 1.1%
  9. Wine$2.6 billion · 1.1%
  10. Refined petroleum$2.6 billion · 1%

If it closes

  • Germany–Italy: +549 nautical miles, ≈ 1.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar
  • Italy–Netherlands: +703 nautical miles, ≈ 2 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar
  • Italy–Poland: +276 nautical miles, ≈ 1 day more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar and the Øresund
  • Belgium–Italy: +772 nautical miles, ≈ 2.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar

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

Reference ports

Genoa (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