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

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. Poland–China$46.4 billion · 19.8%
2. Poland–Italy$30.2 billion · 12.9%
3. Poland–Spain$16.2 billion · 6.9%
4. Poland–Hungary$12.7 billion · 5.4%
5. Poland–Turkey$12.2 billion · 5.2%
6. Poland–France$11.3 billion · 4.8%
7. Poland–Romania$10.7 billion · 4.5%
8. Poland–Austria$10.6 billion · 4.5%
9. Poland–Saudi Arabia$9.3 billion · 4%
10. Poland–South Korea$6 billion · 2.5%

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

1. Cars$11.7 billion · 5%
2. Auto parts$10.4 billion · 4.4%
3. Crude petroleum$9.1 billion · 3.9%
4. Computer and office machine parts$3.2 billion · 1.4%
5. Trucks$3.1 billion · 1.3%
6. Batteries$2.7 billion · 1.1%
7. Furniture$2.6 billion · 1.1%
8. Women's suits and dresses$2.4 billion · 1%
9. New tires$2.4 billion · 1%
10. Seats and chairs$2.3 billion · 1%

• China–Poland: +269 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 Øresund
• Italy–Poland: +276 nautical miles, ≈ 1 day more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Gibraltar and the Øresund

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

Gdańsk (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.

• See Strait of Dover
• Poland trade

Other chokepoints it uses

• Øresund · 91%
• Strait of Gibraltar · 31%
• Cape of Good Hope · 17%
• Strait of Malacca and Singapore · 16%
• Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles) · 8%
• Suez Canal · 5%

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• World Bank, Global Shipping Traffic Density · CC BY 4.0 (route network derived by this site)
• World Port Index (NGA) · Public domain (US Government work)
• Natural Earth · Public domain
• Kummu et al., gridded GDP · CC BY 4.0 (split between ports done by this site)

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.