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

In 2024, an estimated $70.4 billion of Iraq’s trade passed through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, 48.6% of its seaborne trade. That is $51.5 billion of exports and $18.9 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, South Korea and the United States.

Summary

Estimated value
$70.4billion
Of its seaborne trade
48.6%
Exports
$51.5billion
Imports
$18.9billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Iraq’s estimated trade through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore rose 36% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Iraq 70.4

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$3 million1.6%
1996$6 million3.4%
1997$389 million11.9%
1998$722 million12.6%
1999$2.3 billion19.8%
2000$4.8 billion27%
2001$2.9 billion20.5%
2002$3.2 billion25.9%
2003$2.3 billion21.1%
2004$5.4 billion24.5%
2005$5.5 billion22.2%
2006$7.7 billion22.7%
2007$12.1 billion27.8%
2008$18 billion24.9%
2009$16.7 billion33.5%
2010$25.9 billion39.7%
2011$35.6 billion37.6%
2012$42.8 billion36%
2013$49.7 billion42%
2014$44.8 billion38.6%
2015$32.8 billion41.7%
2016$28.1 billion40.1%
2017$35.9 billion38.5%
2018$51.4 billion40.8%
2019$51.9 billion42.2%
2020$39.8 billion44.2%
2021$47.9 billion39.2%
2022$70.8 billion39.2%
2023$64.5 billion40.3%
2024$70.4 billion48.6%

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. Iraq–China$53.9 billion · 76.5%
  2. Iraq–South Korea$10.1 billion · 14.4%
  3. Iraq–United States$2 billion · 2.8%
  4. Iraq–Singapore$1.6 billion · 2.3%
  5. Iraq–Thailand$1.2 billion · 1.6%
  6. Iraq–Taiwan$507 million · 0.72%
  7. Iraq–Philippines$481 million · 0.68%
  8. Iraq–Japan$464 million · 0.66%
  9. Iraq–Malaysia$70 million · 0.1%
  10. Iraq–Australia$59 million · 0.08%

What crosses it

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

  1. Crude petroleum$47.8 billion · 67.9%
  2. Refined petroleum$3.6 billion · 5.1%
  3. Cars$1.4 billion · 2%
  4. Air conditioners$1.1 billion · 1.6%
  5. Rice$626 million · 0.89%
  6. New tires$581 million · 0.83%
  7. Auto parts$462 million · 0.66%
  8. Coated flat steel$319 million · 0.45%
  9. Trucks$313 million · 0.44%
  10. Rubber and plastic footwear$294 million · 0.42%

If it closes

  • China–Iraq: +747 nautical miles, ≈ 2 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Hormuz

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

Reference ports

Umm Qasr (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