Transport services in Australia
Australia: Transport services was 16.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in Australia, 1989–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
Australia recorded 16.4% for transport services in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 37 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in Australia peaked at 37.9% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 2025.
Australia ranks 173rd of 197 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 37 years of available data.
Transport services in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 37.4% | — |
| 1990 | 34.5% | -7.7% |
| 1991 | 34.3% | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 34.1% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 35.5% | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 36.8% | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 37.9% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 36.8% | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 35.8% | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 35.1% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 34.0% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 34.6% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 34.3% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 34.0% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 34.0% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 34.7% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 35.1% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 31.8% | -9.5% |
| 2007 | 29.0% | -8.7% |
| 2008 | 28.1% | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 23.1% | -17.8% |
| 2010 | 23.7% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 23.2% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 23.4% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 21.9% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 21.3% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 20.8% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 19.1% | -8.2% |
| 2017 | 17.7% | -7.2% |
| 2018 | 17.7% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 17.2% | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 20.3% | +18.4% |
| 2021 | 28.1% | +37.9% |
| 2022 | 29.6% | +5.6% |
| 2023 | 17.9% | -39.6% |
| 2024 | 17.2% | -3.7% |
| 2025 | 16.4% | -5.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 37.4% | 37.4% | 37.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 35.5% | 34.0% | 37.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 31.9% | 23.1% | 35.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.6% | 17.2% | 23.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.6% | 16.4% | 29.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 170 Russian Federation 16.6% compare
- 171 Papua New Guinea 16.6% compare
- 172 Ukraine 16.5% compare
- 174 Iceland 16.3% compare
- 175 Brunei Darussalam 16.2% compare
- 176 Barbados 16.1% compare
More private sector data for Australia
- Merchandise trade 36.0% (2025)
- Food imports 6.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 74.3% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 310.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 9.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 337.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 12,225 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1877 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.9521 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in Australia?
- Transport services in Australia was 16.4% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 37.9% in 1995.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 2025.
- How does Australia rank for transport services?
- Australia ranks 173rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Transport services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.