Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 28.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Least developed countries, 1990–2025
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 Least developed countries stood at 28.5%.
The figure is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 43.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Least developed countries peaked at 51.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 1990.
Least developed countries ranks 19th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 21.7% | — |
| 1996 | 27.5% | +26.9% |
| 2002 | 35.4% | +28.7% |
| 2003 | 34.1% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 35.5% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 42.8% | +20.6% |
| 2006 | 30.5% | -28.6% |
| 2007 | 46.8% | +53.4% |
| 2008 | 48.9% | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 49.0% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 47.4% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 49.8% | +4.9% |
| 2012 | 48.9% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 50.0% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 51.0% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 50.3% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 50.4% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 51.1% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 51.0% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 51.6% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 29.7% | -42.5% |
| 2021 | 28.8% | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 32.6% | +13.3% |
| 2023 | 28.8% | -11.6% |
| 2024 | 30.2% | +4.6% |
| 2025 | 28.5% | -5.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Least developed countries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +53.4% | 30.5% | 46.8% |
| 2020 | -42.5% | 51.6% | 29.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.6% | 21.7% | 27.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 40.4% | 30.5% | 49.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 50.1% | 47.4% | 51.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.8% | 28.5% | 32.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
- 16 East Timor 82.7% compare
- 17 Jamaica 81.7% compare
- 18 Laos 81.1% compare
- 19 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 81.1% compare
- 20 Cape Verde 80.3% compare
- 21 Dominican Republic 80.2% compare
- 22 Sao Tome and Principe 79.4% compare
More private sector data for Least developed countries
- Merchandise trade 41.4% (2025)
- Food imports 15.6% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 62.6% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 376.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 83.48 billion current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 15.7% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 19.9% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 311.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 54.31 billion current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 256.54 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Least developed countries?
- Travel services in Least developed countries was 28.5% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 51.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 1990.
- How does Least developed countries rank for travel services?
- Least developed countries ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.