Bab el-Mandeb
high riskThe entrance to the Red Sea. Houthi attacks since late 2023 have pushed part of the traffic around Africa.
Answer
About 8.7 million barrels of crude and fuels pass through here every day – ~9% of seaborne trade, or 4 supertankers a day. The map shows 2.5 million of that in crude oil routes. The countries most dependent on the Bab el-Mandeb are India (36% of imports), Greece (30% of imports), Turkey (23% of imports) and Bulgaria (18% of imports).
U.S. EIA 2023 · UN Comtrade 2025
Key figures
- Oil and products a day, barrels per day
- 8.7 million
- Most dependent country
- India · 36%
- Largest supplier through it
- Russia · 72%
Open on the interactive map →✕ What if it closes?
How much oil passes through the Bab el-Mandeb?
About 8.7 million barrels of crude and fuels pass through here every day – ~9% of seaborne trade, or 4 supertankers a day. The map shows 2.5 million of that in crude oil routes.
U.S. EIA · 2023
Why is the Bab el-Mandeb a risk?
Since late 2023 the Houthis have been attacking ships – some carriers avoid the Red Sea and sail around Africa.
The countries most dependent on the Bab el-Mandeb are India (36% of imports), Greece (30% of imports), Turkey (23% of imports) and Bulgaria (18% of imports).
Which countries depend on the Bab el-Mandeb?
| Country | share | thousand b/d |
|---|---|---|
| India | 36% of imports | 1,782 |
| Greece | 30% of imports | 129 |
| Turkey | 23% of imports | 150 |
| Bulgaria | 18% of imports | 17 |
| Netherlands | 12% of imports | 124 |
| Serbia | 11% of imports | 5 |
| France | 8% of imports | 70 |
| Italy | 5% of imports | 58 |
| Spain | 5% of imports | 56 |
| Germany | 4% of imports | 63 |
| Austria | 3% of imports | 5 |
UN Comtrade, JODI-Oil · 2025
Whose oil is it?
| Supplier | share | thousand b/d |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 72% | 1,782 |
| Iraq | 28% | 677 |
UN Comtrade, JODI-Oil · 2025
Sources
- U.S. EIA – crude oil and petroleum products passing through maritime chokepoints · 2023
- UN Comtrade – crude oil imports by country of origin (HS 2709), as reported by the importing country · 2025
- JODI-Oil – national crude oil production, imports and exports · 2025
Related questions
Download the data
CSV and JSON, CC BY 4.0 – credit “chokepoints.io” with a link. Volumes in thousand barrels per day, 2025 annual averages.
Countries (CSV)Trade routes (CSV)Chokepoints (CSV)Everything (JSON)DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23267750 (Zenodo)