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How much of France’s trade passes through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore?

In 2024, an estimated $99.5 billion of France’s trade passed through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, 16.6% of its seaborne trade. That is $20.4 billion of exports and $79.1 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, South Korea and Japan.

Summary

Estimated value
$99.5billion
Of its seaborne trade
16.6%
Exports
$20.4billion
Imports
$79.1billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

France’s estimated trade through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore rose 20% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • France 99.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$21.6 billion10.7%
1996$22.5 billion10.6%
1997$23.9 billion11%
1998$24.2 billion10.7%
1999$25.5 billion11.2%
2000$27 billion11.2%
2001$27 billion11.3%
2002$28.8 billion11.5%
2003$34.5 billion12.1%
2004$42.4 billion12.8%
2005$48.4 billion13.4%
2006$52.3 billion12.7%
2007$64.2 billion13.9%
2008$69.2 billion13.3%
2009$54.8 billion13.9%
2010$68.1 billion15.2%
2011$81.7 billion15.7%
2012$74.3 billion15%
2013$71.4 billion14.7%
2014$74.9 billion15.2%
2015$69.9 billion16.2%
2016$71.2 billion16.9%
2017$73.8 billion16.1%
2018$80.1 billion15.8%
2019$83.2 billion16.8%
2020$61.7 billion15%
2021$79.9 billion15.5%
2022$84.5 billion13.9%
2023$101.1 billion16.4%
2024$99.5 billion16.6%

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. France–China$64.8 billion · 65.2%
  2. France–South Korea$8.3 billion · 8.3%
  3. France–Japan$7.7 billion · 7.7%
  4. France–Vietnam$5.4 billion · 5.4%
  5. France–Singapore$2.9 billion · 2.9%
  6. France–Thailand$2.9 billion · 2.9%
  7. France–Taiwan$2 billion · 2.1%
  8. France–Russia$1.5 billion · 1.5%
  9. France–Cambodia$1.3 billion · 1.3%
  10. France–Hong Kong$1.3 billion · 1.3%

What crosses it

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

  1. Cars$4.2 billion · 4.2%
  2. Cargo and cruise ships$3.4 billion · 3.5%
  3. Computer and office machine parts$2.8 billion · 2.8%
  4. Batteries$2.4 billion · 2.4%
  5. Wine$2.2 billion · 2.3%
  6. Refined petroleum$2.2 billion · 2.2%
  7. Auto parts$1.8 billion · 1.8%
  8. Bags, suitcases and cases$1.5 billion · 1.5%
  9. Electric heaters and hair dryers$1.5 billion · 1.5%
  10. Textile footwear$1.4 billion · 1.5%

If it closes

  • China–France: +745 nautical miles, ≈ 2 days more at 14 knots, via the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal

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

Reference ports

Le Havre (29%), Dunkirk (20%) and Marseille (50%)

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