Travel services in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Travel services was 14.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Republic of Korea, 1976–2025
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 Republic of Korea stood at 14.9%.
The figure is up 8.2% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Republic of Korea peaked at 35.5% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 1982.
That places Republic of Korea 156th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Travel services in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 20.9% | — |
| 1977 | 14.6% | -30.0% |
| 1978 | 10.9% | -25.7% |
| 1979 | 8.2% | -24.4% |
| 1980 | 7.6% | -7.7% |
| 1981 | 7.5% | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 7.2% | -3.9% |
| 1983 | 9.0% | +24.7% |
| 1984 | 10.1% | +11.9% |
| 1985 | 13.8% | +37.2% |
| 1986 | 25.7% | +85.7% |
| 1987 | 27.3% | +6.5% |
| 1988 | 35.1% | +28.6% |
| 1989 | 35.5% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 30.7% | -13.6% |
| 1991 | 26.3% | -14.3% |
| 1992 | 23.3% | -11.2% |
| 1993 | 21.8% | -6.6% |
| 1994 | 19.1% | -12.2% |
| 1995 | 21.7% | +13.5% |
| 1996 | 20.2% | -7.1% |
| 1997 | 17.3% | -14.3% |
| 1998 | 25.9% | +49.8% |
| 1999 | 24.9% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 21.5% | -13.6% |
| 2001 | 21.4% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 19.8% | -7.5% |
| 2003 | 15.5% | -21.7% |
| 2004 | 13.8% | -10.9% |
| 2005 | 11.8% | -14.6% |
| 2006 | 10.3% | -12.7% |
| 2007 | 8.7% | -15.1% |
| 2008 | 10.8% | +23.9% |
| 2009 | 13.7% | +26.3% |
| 2010 | 12.5% | -8.5% |
| 2011 | 13.8% | +10.4% |
| 2012 | 13.0% | -5.8% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | +8.2% |
| 2014 | 15.8% | +11.8% |
| 2015 | 15.3% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 18.0% | +17.2% |
| 2017 | 15.1% | -16.2% |
| 2018 | 18.0% | +19.7% |
| 2019 | 20.3% | +12.4% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | -39.6% |
| 2021 | 9.6% | -21.2% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | +4.0% |
| 2023 | 13.1% | +30.3% |
| 2024 | 13.7% | +5.2% |
| 2025 | 14.9% | +8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.7% | 8.2% | 20.9% | 4 |
| 1980s | 17.9% | 7.2% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.1% | 17.3% | 30.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.7% | 8.7% | 21.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 12.5% | 20.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.3% | 9.6% | 14.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
More private sector data for Republic of Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Republic of Korea?
- Travel services in Republic of Korea was 14.9% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 1989.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 1982.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for travel services?
- Republic of Korea ranks 156th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Republic of Korea 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.