Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Panama
Panama: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 32.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Panama, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
Panama recorded 32.8% for travel services in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Panama peaked at 47.6% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 2020.
Panama ranks 113th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Panama, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 46.1% | — |
| 1978 | 47.6% | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 41.3% | -13.2% |
| 1980 | 22.0% | -46.9% |
| 1981 | 22.0% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 20.5% | -6.9% |
| 1983 | 17.6% | -14.2% |
| 1984 | 20.7% | +17.5% |
| 1985 | 20.6% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 19.3% | -6.4% |
| 1988 | 18.4% | -4.8% |
| 1989 | 19.4% | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 18.9% | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 19.9% | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 20.9% | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 21.1% | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 22.3% | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 23.8% | +6.8% |
| 1996 | 25.9% | +8.6% |
| 1997 | 24.7% | -4.5% |
| 1998 | 21.6% | -12.5% |
| 1999 | 22.6% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 23.2% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 24.3% | +4.8% |
| 2002 | 22.8% | -6.0% |
| 2003 | 23.3% | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 23.6% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 24.4% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 24.2% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 23.5% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 24.0% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 25.1% | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 25.8% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 29.4% | +14.2% |
| 2012 | 31.1% | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 33.1% | +6.5% |
| 2014 | 32.9% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 33.6% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 34.8% | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 33.5% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 34.4% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 33.1% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 13.9% | -58.1% |
| 2021 | 21.8% | +56.9% |
| 2022 | 31.3% | +43.7% |
| 2023 | 31.1% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 32.9% | +5.7% |
| 2025 | 32.8% | -0.2% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 32.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 27.1%, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Panama's 32.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 53.3%, 62% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Panama 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 | -58.1% | 33.1% | 13.9% |
| 2021 | +56.9% | 13.9% | 21.8% |
| 1980 | -46.9% | 41.3% | 22.0% |
| 2022 | +43.7% | 21.8% | 31.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 45.0% | 41.3% | 47.6% | 3 |
| 1980s | 20.1% | 17.6% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.2% | 18.9% | 25.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.8% | 22.8% | 25.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.2% | 25.8% | 34.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.3% | 13.9% | 32.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More private sector data for Panama
- Merchandise trade 41.6% (2025)
- Food imports 19.0% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 60.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 25.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 5.82 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 49.6% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 12.6% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 11.90 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 20.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,604 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Panama?
- Travel services in Panama was 32.8% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 1978.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 2020.
- How does Panama rank for travel services?
- Panama ranks 113th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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 — 49 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.