Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Benin
Benin: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 3.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Benin, 1974–2023
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2023, travel services in Benin stood at 3.3%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.
The figure is down 52.8% on the previous year and down 34.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Benin peaked at 15.5% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 2023.
Benin ranks 188th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 15.3% | — |
| 1975 | 11.6% | -24.2% |
| 1976 | 9.6% | -16.7% |
| 1977 | 7.4% | -23.4% |
| 1978 | 7.6% | +3.3% |
| 1979 | 6.6% | -12.9% |
| 1980 | 7.9% | +18.9% |
| 1981 | 5.6% | -28.6% |
| 1982 | 5.7% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | -5.6% |
| 1984 | 10.1% | +89.7% |
| 1985 | 7.0% | -31.5% |
| 1986 | 8.6% | +23.3% |
| 1987 | 8.4% | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 11.4% | +34.7% |
| 1989 | 9.0% | -20.6% |
| 1990 | 12.8% | +41.6% |
| 1991 | 10.3% | -19.2% |
| 1992 | 9.9% | -4.2% |
| 1993 | 7.9% | -20.3% |
| 1994 | 10.4% | +31.8% |
| 1995 | 14.7% | +41.0% |
| 1996 | 15.5% | +5.7% |
| 1997 | 9.1% | -41.0% |
| 1998 | 10.6% | +15.4% |
| 1999 | 11.9% | +12.6% |
| 2000 | 6.5% | -44.9% |
| 2001 | 9.3% | +42.1% |
| 2002 | 9.6% | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 8.7% | -9.8% |
| 2004 | 10.6% | +21.5% |
| 2005 | 10.0% | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 9.9% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 14.6% | +47.5% |
| 2008 | 12.8% | -12.6% |
| 2009 | 10.8% | -15.7% |
| 2010 | 11.4% | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 10.6% | -6.9% |
| 2012 | 7.4% | -30.1% |
| 2013 | 5.1% | -31.3% |
| 2014 | 6.1% | +20.0% |
| 2015 | 10.9% | +78.3% |
| 2016 | 8.4% | -23.3% |
| 2017 | 7.3% | -13.4% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | -43.8% |
| 2019 | 11.7% | +186.8% |
| 2020 | 9.8% | -16.6% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | -14.6% |
| 2022 | 7.1% | -15.1% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | -52.8% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 3.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.1%, 20% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Benin's 3.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.4%, 36% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Benin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +186.8% | 4.1% | 11.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.7% | 6.6% | 15.3% | 6 |
| 1980s | 7.9% | 5.4% | 11.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.3% | 7.9% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.3% | 6.5% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.3% | 4.1% | 11.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.1% | 3.3% | 9.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
- 185 Luxembourg 3.6% compare
- 186 Tajikistan 3.6% compare
- 187 Yemen 3.4% compare
- 189 Papua New Guinea 3.2% compare
- 190 Djibouti 3.0% compare
- 191 Liberia 3.0% compare
More private sector data for Benin
- Merchandise trade 36.4% (2025)
- Food imports 33.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 50.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.95 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.54 billion current US$ (2023)
- Food exports 39.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 7.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.99 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 451.05 million current US$ (2023)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 269.2 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Benin?
- Travel services in Benin was 3.3% in 2023, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 15.5% in 1996.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 2023.
- How does Benin rank for travel services?
- Benin ranks 188th out of 198 countries with data for 2023.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin 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 — 50 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.