Travel services in Africa Western and Central
Africa Western and Central: Travel services was 16.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Africa Western and Central, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2024, travel services in Africa Western and Central stood at 16.8%.
That represents a change of up 11.2% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Africa Western and Central peaked at 25.9% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 11.1%, in 2016.
Africa Western and Central ranks 41st of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Travel services in Africa Western and Central, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 14.3% | — |
| 1978 | 12.4% | -12.8% |
| 1979 | 13.1% | +5.6% |
| 1980 | 17.5% | +33.0% |
| 1981 | 17.4% | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 19.4% | +11.8% |
| 1983 | 16.8% | -13.6% |
| 1984 | 14.2% | -15.5% |
| 1985 | 12.3% | -13.5% |
| 1986 | 12.5% | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 12.1% | -3.1% |
| 1988 | 12.8% | +6.2% |
| 1989 | 22.3% | +73.9% |
| 1990 | 21.7% | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 24.4% | +12.2% |
| 1992 | 17.7% | -27.4% |
| 1993 | 13.7% | -22.8% |
| 1994 | 19.1% | +39.7% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | -13.9% |
| 1996 | 18.5% | +12.8% |
| 1997 | 23.2% | +24.8% |
| 1998 | 25.2% | +8.7% |
| 1999 | 16.5% | -34.5% |
| 2000 | 16.2% | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 16.7% | +2.9% |
| 2002 | 16.9% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 22.1% | +30.1% |
| 2005 | 11.8% | -46.6% |
| 2006 | 20.1% | +70.7% |
| 2007 | 24.7% | +22.7% |
| 2008 | 25.9% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 22.2% | -14.3% |
| 2010 | 19.2% | -13.8% |
| 2011 | 19.4% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 17.1% | -11.8% |
| 2013 | 17.7% | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 16.7% | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 19.0% | +13.4% |
| 2016 | 11.1% | -41.5% |
| 2017 | 20.2% | +81.4% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 19.3% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 15.0% | -22.3% |
| 2021 | 15.5% | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 14.0% | -9.8% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | +7.6% |
| 2024 | 16.8% | +11.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 13.3% | 12.4% | 14.3% | 3 |
| 1980s | 15.7% | 12.1% | 22.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.6% | 13.7% | 25.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.6% | 11.8% | 25.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 17.9% | 11.1% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 14.0% | 16.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa Western and Central
More private sector data for Africa Western and Central
- Merchandise trade 43.1% (2025)
- Food imports 15.3% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 54.3% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 163.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.1% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 7.0% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 204.10 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 383.07 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2394 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 20.81 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Africa Western and Central?
- Travel services in Africa Western and Central was 16.8% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The highest recorded value was 25.9% in 2008.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Africa Western and Central?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1% in 2016.
- How does Africa Western and Central rank for travel services?
- Africa Western and Central ranks 41st out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Africa Western and Central?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Western and Central 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 imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 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 imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.