Transport services in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Transport services was 30.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in Latin America & Caribbean, 1979–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 30.8% for transport services in 2025.
That represents a change of down 4.4% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 42.6% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 27.8%, in 2016.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Transport services in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 39.6% | — |
| 1980 | 42.6% | +7.7% |
| 1981 | 41.4% | -2.7% |
| 1982 | 39.0% | -5.9% |
| 1983 | 39.5% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 40.6% | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 38.4% | -5.3% |
| 1986 | 36.8% | -4.2% |
| 1987 | 38.9% | +5.8% |
| 1988 | 38.1% | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 38.3% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 36.0% | -5.9% |
| 1991 | 38.8% | +7.9% |
| 1992 | 38.9% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 38.1% | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 40.9% | +7.2% |
| 1995 | 42.6% | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 31.9% | -25.1% |
| 1997 | 31.4% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 39.3% | +25.1% |
| 1999 | 39.0% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 39.2% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 38.3% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 34.0% | -11.4% |
| 2003 | 33.6% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 36.2% | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 36.5% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 36.9% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 37.1% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 38.5% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 32.7% | -15.1% |
| 2010 | 34.4% | +5.0% |
| 2011 | 34.0% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 32.9% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 31.6% | -4.1% |
| 2014 | 31.4% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 28.9% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 27.8% | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 28.5% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 28.4% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 27.9% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 29.8% | +6.9% |
| 2021 | 38.9% | +30.4% |
| 2022 | 39.2% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 33.6% | -14.4% |
| 2024 | 32.2% | -4.1% |
| 2025 | 30.8% | -4.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 39.6% | 39.6% | 39.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 39.4% | 36.8% | 42.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 37.7% | 31.4% | 42.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.3% | 32.7% | 39.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.6% | 27.8% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.1% | 29.8% | 39.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More private sector data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 9.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 1.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 24.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 46.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 1.67 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,503 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2256 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.02 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Transport services in Latin America & Caribbean was 30.8% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 42.6% in 1980.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.8% in 2016.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for transport services?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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 — 47 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.