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How much of Bangladesh’s trade passes through the Suez Canal?

In 2024, an estimated $7.3 billion of Bangladesh’s trade passed through the Suez Canal, 6.9% of its seaborne trade. That is $6.5 billion of exports and $757 million of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Germany, the United States and France.

Summary

Estimated value
$7.3billion
Of its seaborne trade
6.9%
Exports
$6.5billion
Imports
$757million

Trend

Estimated value per year

Bangladesh’s estimated trade through the Suez Canal fell 81% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Bangladesh 7.3

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$4 billion42.7%
1996$4.3 billion41.8%
1997$5 billion45.7%
1998$5.4 billion44.5%
1999$4.5 billion45.9%
2000$5.2 billion40.8%
2001$6.2 billion44.1%
2002$6 billion45.3%
2003$7.3 billion45.5%
2004$8.8 billion46.4%
2005$9.3 billion46.1%
2006$11.8 billion45.9%
2007$12.5 billion44.4%
2008$14 billion42%
2009$14 billion41.6%
2010$16.7 billion40.6%
2011$21 billion38.8%
2012$23 billion42.4%
2013$25.8 billion44.8%
2014$27.7 billion45.6%
2015$28.4 billion40.5%
2016$28.8 billion39.3%
2017$29.8 billion35.7%
2018$39.8 billion39.6%
2019$38.9 billion45%
2020$34.4 billion45.3%
2021$42.9 billion40%
2022$54.4 billion41.7%
2023$46.6 billion42.5%
2024$7.3 billion6.9%

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. Bangladesh–Germany$1.3 billion · 17.9%
  2. Bangladesh–United States$900 million · 12.3%
  3. Bangladesh–France$654 million · 9%
  4. Bangladesh–United Kingdom$649 million · 8.9%
  5. Bangladesh–Poland$589 million · 8.1%
  6. Bangladesh–Spain$584 million · 8%
  7. Bangladesh–Italy$287 million · 3.9%
  8. Bangladesh–Netherlands$267 million · 3.7%
  9. Bangladesh–Canada$195 million · 2.7%
  10. Bangladesh–Turkey$185 million · 2.5%

What crosses it

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

  1. T-shirts$1.1 billion · 14.8%
  2. Sweaters and pullovers$915 million · 12.5%
  3. Men's suits and trousers$910 million · 12.5%
  4. Women's suits and dresses$735 million · 10.1%
  5. Women's knitted suits and dresses$441 million · 6%
  6. Men's shirts$281 million · 3.9%
  7. Men's knitted shirts$167 million · 2.3%
  8. Women's knitted underwear and pajamas$158 million · 2.2%
  9. Men's knitted underwear and pajamas$153 million · 2.1%
  10. Women's coats and jackets$146 million · 2%

If it closes

  • Bangladesh–Germany: +3,797 nautical miles, ≈ 11.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Dover
  • Bangladesh–United States: +2,659 nautical miles, ≈ 8 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • Bangladesh–France: +5,295 nautical miles, ≈ 16 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Gibraltar
  • Bangladesh–United Kingdom: +3,809 nautical miles, ≈ 11.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope
  • Bangladesh–Poland: +3,800 nautical miles, ≈ 11.5 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Dover and the Øresund

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

Reference ports

Chittagong (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