Travel services in European Union
European Union: Travel services was 18.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in European Union, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in European Union is 18.0%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.4% on the previous year and down 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in European Union peaked at 31.7% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 2021.
European Union ranks 39th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Travel services in European Union, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 31.4% | — |
| 1976 | 26.4% | -16.0% |
| 1977 | 27.7% | +4.9% |
| 1978 | 28.3% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 28.2% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 27.5% | -2.3% |
| 1981 | 25.5% | -7.3% |
| 1982 | 26.5% | +3.8% |
| 1983 | 27.9% | +5.4% |
| 1984 | 28.5% | +2.2% |
| 1985 | 29.0% | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 30.5% | +5.0% |
| 1987 | 31.3% | +2.5% |
| 1988 | 31.6% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 30.8% | -2.8% |
| 1990 | 29.7% | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 31.7% | +6.7% |
| 2000 | 31.7% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 30.3% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 28.0% | -7.7% |
| 2003 | 27.5% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 26.4% | -3.9% |
| 2005 | 25.4% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 24.9% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 23.9% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 23.2% | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 22.0% | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 22.0% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 21.5% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 21.7% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 21.2% | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 20.2% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 20.1% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 20.2% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 19.9% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 19.6% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 11.1% | -43.4% |
| 2021 | 11.0% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 15.1% | +37.1% |
| 2023 | 16.6% | +10.1% |
| 2024 | 16.7% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 18.0% | +7.4% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in European Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -43.4% | 19.6% | 11.1% |
| 2022 | +37.1% | 11.0% | 15.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 28.4% | 26.4% | 31.4% | 5 |
| 1980s | 28.9% | 25.5% | 31.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.7% | 29.7% | 31.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 23.2% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.8% | 19.6% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.8% | 11.0% | 18.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More private sector data for European Union
- Merchandise trade 70.9% (2025)
- Food imports 10.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 7.41 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 76.6% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 16,988 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3608 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.82 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in European Union?
- Travel services in European Union was 18.0% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 31.7% in 1999.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 2021.
- How does European Union rank for travel services?
- European Union ranks 39th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union 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.
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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.