globaltraffic.earth

Suez Canal: how much trade passes through (2024 estimate)

In 2024, an estimated $471.6 billion of trade passed through the Suez Canal, 3.9% of seaborne trade. Compared with 2019, the estimate fell 74%. The countries that depend on it most are Jordan (46%), Saudi Arabia (30%) and Egypt (26%), by the share of their seaborne trade that crosses it.

Summary

Estimated value
$471.6billion
Of seaborne trade
3.9%
Rank among the eleven chokepoints
9th

Trend of the estimated value

Estimated value per year

The estimated value through the Suez Canal fell 74% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Suez Canal 472

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf seaborne trade
1995$434.4 billion16%
1996$470.7 billion16.2%
1997$490.3 billion16.2%
1998$467.3 billion16.1%
1999$482.8 billion16.1%
2000$529.2 billion16.1%
2001$529.9 billion16.3%
2002$567.2 billion16.4%
2003$665.8 billion16.6%
2004$826.9 billion16.9%
2005$962 billion17%
2006$1.1 trillion16.8%
2007$1.3 trillion17.4%
2008$1.6 trillion17.6%
2009$1.2 trillion17.9%
2010$1.5 trillion17.7%
2011$1.8 trillion17.7%
2012$1.8 trillion17.5%
2013$1.8 trillion17.4%
2014$1.8 trillion17.7%
2015$1.6 trillion17.9%
2016$1.5 trillion18.2%
2017$1.7 trillion18.1%
2018$1.8 trillion17.9%
2019$1.8 trillion18.1%
2020$1.6 trillion18.1%
2021$2.1 trillion18.1%
2022$2.4 trillion18.2%
2023$2.3 trillion18.3%
2024$471.6 billion3.9%

Since January 2024 most container ships go around Africa; our model assumes 15% still goes through Suez (also for bulk carriers and tankers, which diverted less).

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. Jordan$10.6 billion · 46.2%
  2. Saudi Arabia$130 billion · 29.8%
  3. Egypt$34.1 billion · 26%
  4. Sudan$1.4 billion · 23.8%
  5. Yemen$1.8 billion · 22.9%
  6. Syria$513 million · 15.8%
  7. Lebanon$2 billion · 12.6%
  8. Palestine$170 million · 9.9%
  9. Uzbekistan$3.2 billion · 9%
  10. Russia$24.1 billion · 8.4%
  11. Mauritania$616 million · 7.7%
  12. Belarus$1.3 billion · 7.7%
  13. Afghanistan$164 million · 7.5%
  14. Malta$1.1 billion · 6.9%
  15. Gambia$127 million · 6.9%
  16. Bangladesh$7.3 billion · 6.9%
  17. Mali$194 million · 6.6%
  18. Israel$4.8 billion · 6.5%
  19. Armenia$622 million · 6.5%
  20. Laos$124 million · 6.4%

The largest by value through it

  1. Saudi Arabia$130 billion · 29.8%
  2. China$124.5 billion · 3.7%
  3. United States$54 billion · 2.5%
  4. Germany$53.5 billion · 4.3%
  5. India$40.5 billion · 5.6%
  6. Egypt$34.1 billion · 26%
  7. Italy$29.9 billion · 4.1%
  8. United Kingdom$29 billion · 4.3%
  9. France$28.4 billion · 4.8%
  10. Turkey$27.2 billion · 6%

What crosses it

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

  1. Crude petroleum$47.2 billion · 10%
  2. Refined petroleum$42.5 billion · 9%
  3. Cars$25.2 billion · 5.3%
  4. Auto parts$7.7 billion · 1.6%
  5. Batteries$5.9 billion · 1.3%
  6. Polyethylene$4.9 billion · 1%
  7. Computer and office machine parts$4.7 billion · 1%
  8. Natural gas and LPG$4.2 billion · 0.9%
  9. Coal$4.1 billion · 0.86%
  10. Polypropylene$3.8 billion · 0.8%

If it closes

  • China–Germany: +3,514 nautical miles, ≈ 10.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; and the Strait of Dover
  • China–United Kingdom: +3,515 nautical miles, ≈ 10.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; and the Cape of Good Hope
  • China–France: +4,862 nautical miles, ≈ 14.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; and the Strait of Gibraltar
  • India–United States: +3,350 nautical miles, ≈ 10 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • India–Russia: +7,812 nautical miles, ≈ 23.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
  • China–Netherlands: +3,515 nautical miles, ≈ 10.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; and the Strait of Dover
  • China–Poland: +3,514 nautical miles, ≈ 10.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; the Strait of Dover; and the Øresund
  • China–Spain: +4,389 nautical miles, ≈ 13 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; and the Strait of Gibraltar
  • China–Italy: +5,165 nautical miles, ≈ 15.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; and the Strait of Gibraltar
  • China–Turkey: +6,731 nautical miles, ≈ 20 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; the Strait of Gibraltar; and the Dardanelles

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. China–Germany$23.4 billion · 15%
  2. Saudi Arabia–United States$19.4 billion · 92.9%
  3. Egypt–Saudi Arabia$12.8 billion · 80%
  4. China–United Kingdom$12.2 billion · 15%
  5. Italy–Saudi Arabia$10.4 billion · 100%
  6. China–France$9.7 billion · 15%
  7. Poland–Saudi Arabia$9.3 billion · 100%
  8. India–United States$8.5 billion · 11.3%
  9. India–Russia$7.5 billion · 11%
  10. China–Netherlands$7.4 billion · 15%

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