Insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central
Africa Western and Central: Insurance and financial services was 8.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2024, insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central stood at 8.3%. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 28.8% on the previous year and up 38.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central peaked at 8.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 1994.
That places Africa Western and Central 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 5.0% | — |
| 1978 | 5.3% | +5.9% |
| 1979 | 5.0% | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 4.2% | -16.8% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | +15.6% |
| 1982 | 4.5% | -6.3% |
| 1983 | 5.1% | +12.9% |
| 1984 | 5.1% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 5.3% | +4.9% |
| 1986 | 4.7% | -11.6% |
| 1987 | 5.0% | +5.2% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | +10.4% |
| 1989 | 5.0% | -8.8% |
| 1990 | 4.9% | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | -4.8% |
| 1992 | 5.3% | +13.4% |
| 1993 | 4.6% | -14.1% |
| 1994 | 3.8% | -16.7% |
| 1995 | 4.6% | +19.9% |
| 1996 | 3.9% | -13.9% |
| 1997 | 4.5% | +16.1% |
| 1998 | 4.6% | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 4.7% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 4.6% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 4.5% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | +9.4% |
| 2006 | 5.5% | +10.3% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | -15.3% |
| 2008 | 6.0% | +29.4% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | -12.5% |
| 2010 | 5.1% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 5.6% | +10.4% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 5.2% | -12.3% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | +15.6% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | +8.9% |
| 2016 | 7.4% | +13.8% |
| 2017 | 6.5% | -12.0% |
| 2018 | 5.2% | -20.5% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 6.1% | +28.7% |
| 2021 | 6.5% | +7.0% |
| 2022 | 6.1% | -5.7% |
| 2023 | 6.4% | +5.1% |
| 2024 | 8.3% | +28.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.1% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 3 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.2% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 3.8% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.5% | 6.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.8% | 4.7% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.7% | 6.1% | 8.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa Western and Central
More private sector data for Africa Western and Central
- Merchandise trade 43.1% (2025)
- Food imports 15.3% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 54.3% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 163.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.1% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 7.0% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 204.10 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 383.07 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2394 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 20.81 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central?
- Insurance and financial services in Africa Western and Central was 8.3% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The highest recorded value was 8.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 1994.
- How does Africa Western and Central rank for insurance and financial services?
- Africa Western and Central ranks 20th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Africa Western and Central?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Western and Central 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 imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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 imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.