Travel services in South Asia
South Asia: Travel services was 7.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Travel services in South Asia, 1975–2025
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 South Asia stood at 7.6%.
The figure is down 28.4% on the previous year and down 46.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in South Asia peaked at 49.2% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 2021.
That places South Asia 44th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Travel services in South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 27.3% | — |
| 1976 | 27.8% | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 38.4% | +38.1% |
| 1978 | 42.1% | +9.6% |
| 1979 | 41.1% | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 49.2% | +19.8% |
| 1981 | 44.0% | -10.7% |
| 1982 | 39.4% | -10.4% |
| 1983 | 35.5% | -10.0% |
| 1984 | 23.4% | -33.9% |
| 1985 | 26.1% | +11.2% |
| 1986 | 33.6% | +29.0% |
| 1987 | 36.9% | +9.7% |
| 1988 | 34.0% | -7.8% |
| 1989 | 32.1% | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 31.0% | -3.7% |
| 1991 | 34.1% | +10.2% |
| 1992 | 42.2% | +23.8% |
| 1993 | 38.9% | -8.0% |
| 1994 | 34.1% | -12.2% |
| 1995 | 34.4% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 36.3% | +5.4% |
| 1997 | 31.2% | -14.1% |
| 1998 | 26.1% | -16.3% |
| 1999 | 21.6% | -17.4% |
| 2000 | 21.5% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 19.1% | -11.0% |
| 2002 | 16.8% | -12.0% |
| 2003 | 18.7% | +11.3% |
| 2004 | 16.9% | -9.8% |
| 2005 | 14.6% | -13.7% |
| 2006 | 12.8% | -12.4% |
| 2007 | 12.5% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 11.2% | -10.0% |
| 2009 | 12.1% | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 12.4% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 12.8% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 12.6% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 13.0% | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 13.5% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 15.0% | +4.1% |
| 2017 | 16.3% | +8.7% |
| 2018 | 15.3% | -6.2% |
| 2019 | 15.5% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | -53.2% |
| 2021 | 4.5% | -38.0% |
| 2022 | 8.1% | +80.4% |
| 2023 | 10.8% | +33.1% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 7.6% | -28.4% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in South Asia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +80.4% | 4.5% | 8.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.4% | 27.3% | 42.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 35.4% | 23.4% | 49.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 33.0% | 21.6% | 42.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.6% | 11.2% | 21.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 12.4% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.2% | 4.5% | 10.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
More private sector data for South Asia
- Merchandise trade 30.0% (2025)
- Food imports 5.6% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 47.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 864.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.8% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 67.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 510.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 301.72 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1115 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.04 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in South Asia?
- Travel services in South Asia was 7.6% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 49.2% in 1980.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 2021.
- How does South Asia rank for travel services?
- South Asia ranks 44th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 46.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Asia 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 — 51 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.