Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) was 11.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1978–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa is 11.2%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 53.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 12.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2003.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 7.7% | — |
| 1979 | 7.1% | -7.1% |
| 1980 | 6.6% | -7.6% |
| 1981 | 6.9% | +4.3% |
| 1982 | 6.6% | -4.5% |
| 1983 | 4.3% | -34.7% |
| 1984 | 4.8% | +13.0% |
| 1985 | 7.3% | +51.5% |
| 1986 | 6.8% | -7.6% |
| 1987 | 6.4% | -5.8% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | -13.3% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | -15.8% |
| 1990 | 5.4% | +15.9% |
| 1991 | 4.9% | -9.0% |
| 1992 | 5.4% | +9.5% |
| 1993 | 4.7% | -11.8% |
| 1994 | 5.1% | +7.0% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | +10.2% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 5.1% | -5.8% |
| 1998 | 5.3% | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 5.5% | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 5.8% | +4.5% |
| 2001 | 5.3% | -8.2% |
| 2002 | 3.8% | -27.3% |
| 2003 | 3.7% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 4.5% | +20.3% |
| 2005 | 6.1% | +36.7% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | -12.7% |
| 2007 | 5.7% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 4.8% | -15.1% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | +7.6% |
| 2010 | 5.2% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 4.9% | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 6.0% | +23.1% |
| 2013 | 4.8% | -20.1% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | +13.7% |
| 2015 | 7.3% | +32.8% |
| 2016 | 7.4% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 7.0% | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 9.2% | +31.4% |
| 2019 | 8.2% | -10.9% |
| 2020 | 12.6% | +53.9% |
| 2021 | 12.6% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 10.3% | -18.1% |
| 2023 | 12.1% | +17.6% |
| 2024 | 11.4% | -6.0% |
| 2025 | 11.2% | -2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.4% | 7.1% | 7.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 6.0% | 4.3% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 3.7% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.5% | 4.8% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.7% | 10.3% | 12.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 4 Cayman Islands 55.2% compare
- 5 Sierra Leone 32.7% compare
- 6 Bahrain 29.0% compare
- 7 Hong Kong 28.8% compare
- 8 Bermuda 27.9% compare
- 9 Nigeria 25.3% compare
- 10 United Kingdom 25.2% compare
More private sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Merchandise trade 44.5% (2025)
- Food imports 12.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 56.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 501.15 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 147.11 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 14.6% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 19.5% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 486.80 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 88.65 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 368.33 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 11.2% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 12.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2003.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for insurance and financial services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 53.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.