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How much of Iran’s trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz?

In 2024, an estimated $25.5 billion of Iran’s trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz, 98% of its seaborne trade. That is $8.8 billion of exports and $16.7 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, Brazil and India.

Summary

Estimated value
$25.5billion
Of its seaborne trade
98%
Exports
$8.8billion
Imports
$16.7billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Iran’s estimated trade through the Strait of Hormuz fell 57% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Iran 25.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$20.6 billion99.6%
1996$25.3 billion99.7%
1997$28.6 billion97.3%
1998$22.9 billion94.4%
1999$26.2 billion94.6%
2000$35.6 billion96%
2001$34.5 billion93.7%
2002$33.9 billion92.3%
2003$48.3 billion92.1%
2004$60.9 billion90.7%
2005$73.3 billion89.7%
2006$88.1 billion95.9%
2007$105.2 billion94%
2008$137.2 billion95.2%
2009$94.9 billion99.5%
2010$125.9 billion88.3%
2011$158.8 billion89.3%
2012$108.5 billion90.8%
2013$95.1 billion87.5%
2014$103.5 billion88%
2015$70.5 billion86.7%
2016$78.6 billion89.6%
2017$104.9 billion89.3%
2018$99.6 billion87.5%
2019$59.1 billion84.6%
2020$46.5 billion83.7%
2021$61.3 billion79.7%
2022$71.1 billion80%
2023$26.9 billion90.9%
2024$25.5 billion98%

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. Iran–China$12.6 billion · 49.3%
  2. Iran–Brazil$3 billion · 11.8%
  3. Iran–India$2.3 billion · 8.9%
  4. Iran–Turkey$1.5 billion · 5.7%
  5. Iran–Germany$719 million · 2.8%
  6. Iran–Malaysia$564 million · 2.2%
  7. Iran–Italy$493 million · 1.9%
  8. Iran–Pakistan$433 million · 1.7%
  9. Iran–Uzbekistan$382 million · 1.5%
  10. Iran–Kazakhstan$338 million · 1.3%

What crosses it

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

  1. Polyethylene$1.9 billion · 7.3%
  2. Soybean meal and pellets$1.2 billion · 4.6%
  3. Iron ore$1.1 billion · 4.4%
  4. Soybeans$1.1 billion · 4.3%
  5. Corn$1.1 billion · 4.2%
  6. Alcohols$1.1 billion · 4.1%
  7. Rice$704 million · 2.8%
  8. Auto parts$688 million · 2.7%
  9. Other nuts (almonds, walnuts)$680 million · 2.7%
  10. Vehicle bodies and cabs$618 million · 2.4%

Reference ports

Khorramshahr (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