Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Transport services (% of commercial service imports) was 30.6% 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 30.6% for transport services in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 42.6% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 27.5%, in 2019.
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 (% of commercial service imports) 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% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 33.9% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 32.9% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 31.7% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 31.4% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 28.9% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 27.9% | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 28.3% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 28.0% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 27.5% | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 29.6% | +7.7% |
| 2021 | 38.3% | +29.7% |
| 2022 | 39.4% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 33.6% | -14.7% |
| 2024 | 31.7% | -5.5% |
| 2025 | 30.6% | -3.4% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Latin America & Caribbean 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 | +29.7% | 29.6% | 38.3% |
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 | 30.5% | 27.5% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.9% | 29.6% | 39.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More private sector data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 8.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 76.0% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 1.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 372.37 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 23.6% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 49.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 1.67 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 320.79 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,503 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Transport services in Latin America & Caribbean was 30.6% 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 27.5% in 2019.
- 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 6.0%. 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.