Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in China
China: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 14.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in China, 1982–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in China stood at 14.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.8% on the previous year and down 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in China peaked at 49.6% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2021.
That places China 159th out of 198 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.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in China, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 28.4% | — |
| 1983 | 31.1% | +9.5% |
| 1984 | 33.1% | +6.5% |
| 1985 | 33.5% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 34.0% | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 40.0% | +17.7% |
| 1988 | 38.1% | -4.8% |
| 1989 | 33.4% | -12.2% |
| 1990 | 30.2% | -9.5% |
| 1991 | 34.2% | +13.0% |
| 1992 | 38.8% | +13.4% |
| 1993 | 42.6% | +9.9% |
| 1994 | 44.8% | +5.1% |
| 1995 | 47.4% | +5.8% |
| 1996 | 49.6% | +4.7% |
| 1997 | 21.0% | -57.6% |
| 1998 | 20.2% | -3.8% |
| 1999 | 21.4% | +5.7% |
| 2000 | 20.7% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 19.8% | -4.1% |
| 2002 | 20.0% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 30.4% | +51.7% |
| 2004 | 32.7% | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 37.6% | +15.0% |
| 2006 | 36.3% | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 27.6% | -23.9% |
| 2008 | 25.1% | -9.1% |
| 2009 | 27.8% | +10.8% |
| 2010 | 25.8% | -7.2% |
| 2011 | 24.2% | -6.3% |
| 2012 | 24.9% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 25.1% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 20.2% | -19.6% |
| 2015 | 20.8% | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 21.4% | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | -14.9% |
| 2018 | 17.4% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 15.6% | -10.6% |
| 2020 | 4.8% | -69.2% |
| 2021 | 4.0% | -16.4% |
| 2022 | 4.4% | +9.0% |
| 2023 | 8.4% | +91.8% |
| 2024 | 11.6% | +38.6% |
| 2025 | 14.4% | +23.8% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 14.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 49.0%, 29% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 14.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 48.6%, 30% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | +91.8% | 4.4% | 8.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 33.9% | 28.4% | 40.0% | 8 |
| 1990s | 35.0% | 20.2% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.8% | 19.8% | 37.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.4% | 15.6% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 4.0% | 14.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More private sector data for China
- Merchandise trade 32.6% (2025)
- Food imports 8.0% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 50.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 2.58 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 619.60 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 90.5% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 383.15 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,682 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in China?
- Travel services in China was 14.4% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 49.6% in 1996.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2021.
- How does China rank for travel services?
- China ranks 159th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.7%. 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 Travel services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.