Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Australia
Australia: Transport services (% of commercial service imports) 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 5.2% 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 171st 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 (% of commercial service imports) 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% | -5.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 16.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 20.2%, 81% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Australia's 16.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29.5%, 55% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +37.9% | 20.3% | 28.1% |
| 2023 | -39.6% | 29.6% | 17.9% |
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
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)
- Commercial service imports 114.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 9.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 337.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 90.90 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 12,225 current US$ per person (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 171st 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
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.