How much of Germany’s trade passes through the Strait of Gibraltar?

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. Germany–Italy$117.3 billion · 28.2%
2. Germany–Hungary$46 billion · 11%
3. Germany–Turkey$43 billion · 10.3%
4. Germany–Slovakia$34.5 billion · 8.3%
5. Germany–Romania$32.7 billion · 7.8%
6. Germany–China$23.4 billion · 5.6%
7. Germany–Slovenia$11.8 billion · 2.8%
8. Germany–Greece$8.8 billion · 2.1%
9. Germany–Bulgaria$8.5 billion · 2.1%
10. Germany–Serbia$7.9 billion · 1.9%

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

1. Cars$44.6 billion · 10.7%
2. Auto parts$31.6 billion · 7.6%
3. Crude petroleum$11 billion · 2.6%
4. Cables and wire$9.6 billion · 2.3%
5. Trucks$5.7 billion · 1.4%
6. Engine parts$5.4 billion · 1.3%
7. Medicines in measured doses or retail packs$5.2 billion · 1.3%
8. Other plastic articles$5.1 billion · 1.2%
9. Other industrial machines$4.5 billion · 1.1%
10. Transmission shafts, gears and gearboxes$4.4 billion · 1.1%

• 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
• 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
• 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

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

Hamburg (88%) and Rostock (12%)

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 Gibraltar
• Germany trade

Other chokepoints it uses

• Strait of Dover · 78%
• Cape of Good Hope · 21%
• Strait of Malacca and Singapore · 18%
• Kiel Canal · 14%
• Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles) · 7%

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.