Transport services in China
China: Transport services was 17.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in China, 1982–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for transport services in China is 17.9%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 2.2% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in China peaked at 78.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 14.2%, in 2019.
That places China 160th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Transport services in China, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 66.9% | — |
| 1983 | 73.5% | +10.0% |
| 1984 | 50.2% | -31.8% |
| 1985 | 67.4% | +34.4% |
| 1986 | 75.1% | +11.4% |
| 1987 | 70.3% | -6.3% |
| 1988 | 68.4% | -2.7% |
| 1989 | 77.0% | +12.6% |
| 1990 | 78.9% | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 63.7% | -19.3% |
| 1992 | 47.0% | -26.3% |
| 1993 | 47.4% | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 48.3% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 38.7% | -19.9% |
| 1996 | 46.1% | +19.2% |
| 1997 | 35.5% | -23.1% |
| 1998 | 25.0% | -29.4% |
| 1999 | 25.1% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 28.8% | +14.8% |
| 2001 | 28.9% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 29.4% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 33.1% | +12.6% |
| 2004 | 33.9% | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 34.1% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 34.3% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 33.5% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 31.8% | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 29.5% | -7.5% |
| 2010 | 32.9% | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 32.6% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 30.6% | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 28.6% | -6.5% |
| 2014 | 22.3% | -22.1% |
| 2015 | 19.7% | -11.7% |
| 2016 | 18.4% | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 19.9% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 21.0% | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | -32.2% |
| 2020 | 18.0% | +26.6% |
| 2021 | 21.7% | +20.7% |
| 2022 | 22.5% | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 19.2% | -14.8% |
| 2024 | 17.5% | -8.8% |
| 2025 | 17.9% | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 68.6% | 50.2% | 77.0% | 8 |
| 1990s | 45.6% | 25.0% | 78.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 31.7% | 28.8% | 34.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 14.2% | 32.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.5% | 17.5% | 22.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More private sector data for China
- Merchandise trade 32.6% (2025)
- Food imports 8.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 49.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 2.58 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 91.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,682 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1934 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.48 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in China?
- Transport services in China was 17.9% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 78.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.2% in 2019.
- How does China rank for transport services?
- China ranks 160th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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 — 44 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.