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Strait of Gibraltar: how much trade passes through (2024 estimate)

In 2024, an estimated $2.3 trillion of trade passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, 19% of seaborne trade. Compared with 2019, the estimate rose 5%. The countries that depend on it most are Hungary (76%), Israel (70%) and Uzbekistan (69%), by the share of their seaborne trade that crosses it.

Summary

Estimated value
$2.3trillion
Of seaborne trade
19%
Rank among the eleven chokepoints
3rd

Trend of the estimated value

Estimated value per year

The estimated value through the Strait of Gibraltar rose 5% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Strait of Gibraltar 2,326

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf seaborne trade
1995$630.1 billion23.2%
1996$682.1 billion23.4%
1997$713.8 billion23.6%
1998$710.9 billion24.6%
1999$718.7 billion24%
2000$772.8 billion23.5%
2001$774.2 billion23.9%
2002$823.3 billion23.8%
2003$954.9 billion23.9%
2004$1.2 trillion23.7%
2005$1.3 trillion23.4%
2006$1.5 trillion23.1%
2007$1.8 trillion23.3%
2008$2.1 trillion23%
2009$1.6 trillion23%
2010$1.8 trillion22%
2011$2.2 trillion21.9%
2012$2.2 trillion21.5%
2013$2.2 trillion21.6%
2014$2.2 trillion22%
2015$1.9 trillion22.1%
2016$1.9 trillion22.5%
2017$2.1 trillion22.4%
2018$2.3 trillion22.2%
2019$2.2 trillion22.2%
2020$2 trillion22.7%
2021$2.6 trillion22.4%
2022$2.9 trillion21.8%
2023$2.7 trillion22%
2024$2.3 trillion19%

The routes carrying the most value through the chokepoint

Estimated sea routes from this site’s network; thickness follows value.

Countries that depend on it most

Share of their seaborne trade that crosses the chokepoint

  1. Hungary$120.4 billion · 75.9%
  2. Israel$51.6 billion · 70.4%
  3. Uzbekistan$24.3 billion · 69.3%
  4. Slovakia$84.4 billion · 69.2%
  5. Armenia$6.6 billion · 69%
  6. Georgia$9.2 billion · 66.2%
  7. Italy$483.6 billion · 65.5%
  8. Austria$79.3 billion · 64%
  9. Turkey$280 billion · 62%
  10. Slovenia$34.1 billion · 61.9%
  11. Kyrgyzstan$4.2 billion · 61.3%
  12. Ukraine$48.7 billion · 58.8%
  13. Malta$9.1 billion · 58.2%
  14. Serbia$27.3 billion · 57.2%
  15. Romania$90 billion · 54.5%
  16. Moldova$4 billion · 54.5%
  17. North Macedonia$5.4 billion · 52.6%
  18. Bulgaria$33.8 billion · 52.4%
  19. Egypt$64.7 billion · 49.3%
  20. Algeria$39.6 billion · 47.4%

The largest by value through it

  1. Italy$483.6 billion · 65.5%
  2. Germany$416.7 billion · 33.2%
  3. China$370.5 billion · 11%
  4. Turkey$280 billion · 62%
  5. United States$217.9 billion · 10.2%
  6. Spain$177.2 billion · 30.8%
  7. France$169.3 billion · 28.3%
  8. Netherlands$122.4 billion · 19%
  9. Poland$122.4 billion · 30.9%
  10. Russia$122.3 billion · 42.6%

What crosses it

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

  1. Cars$156 billion · 6.7%
  2. Crude petroleum$133.6 billion · 5.7%
  3. Refined petroleum$100.7 billion · 4.3%
  4. Auto parts$76.8 billion · 3.3%
  5. Natural gas and LPG$34.4 billion · 1.5%
  6. Cables and wire$28.8 billion · 1.2%
  7. Trucks$21.7 billion · 0.93%
  8. Transformers and power supplies$19.2 billion · 0.83%
  9. New tires$17.9 billion · 0.77%
  10. Other plastic articles$17.4 billion · 0.75%

If it closes

  • Germany–Italy: +11,011 nautical miles, ≈ 33 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover, the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal
  • Italy–United States: +9,870 nautical miles, ≈ 29.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Cape of Good Hope
  • Germany–Hungary: +10,043 nautical miles, ≈ 30 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover, the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal
  • Germany–Turkey: +9,376 nautical miles, ≈ 28 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover, the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal and the Dardanelles
  • Germany–Slovakia: +10,042 nautical miles, ≈ 30 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover, the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal
  • Italy–Netherlands: +11,024 nautical miles, ≈ 33 days more at 14 knots, via the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Dover
  • Germany–Romania: +9,374 nautical miles, ≈ 28 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Dover, the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
  • Italy–Poland: +11,018 nautical miles, ≈ 33 days more at 14 knots, via the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Dover and the Øresund
  • United Kingdom–Italy: +11,027 nautical miles, ≈ 33 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal
  • Turkey–United States: +8,230 nautical miles, ≈ 24.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Dardanelles, the Suez Canal, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Cape of Good Hope

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

Country pairs that cross it

Estimated value through the chokepoint and the share of each pair’s seaborne trade that crosses it.

  1. Germany–Italy$117.3 billion · 100%
  2. China–France$55.1 billion · 85%
  3. Italy–United States$48.6 billion · 100%
  4. Germany–Hungary$46 billion · 100%
  5. Germany–Turkey$43 billion · 100%
  6. China–Spain$38.8 billion · 85%
  7. China–Italy$36.5 billion · 85%
  8. Germany–Slovakia$34.5 billion · 100%
  9. China–Turkey$34.1 billion · 85%
  10. Italy–Netherlands$33 billion · 100%

Compare with

The other chokepoints

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; seaborne trade is 54% of world trade by value. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.

All maritime chokepoints