Travel services in European Union
European Union: Travel services was 20.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in European Union, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in European Union stood at 20.4%.
The figure is up 8.0% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in European Union peaked at 31.2% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 2020.
European Union ranks 29th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Travel services in European Union, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 30.1% | — |
| 1976 | 26.0% | -13.7% |
| 1977 | 27.2% | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 27.7% | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 27.9% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 27.9% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 25.4% | -9.1% |
| 1982 | 24.9% | -1.8% |
| 1983 | 25.3% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 25.4% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 25.9% | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 29.0% | +12.0% |
| 1987 | 30.3% | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 31.2% | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 30.6% | -2.0% |
| 1990 | 30.7% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 30.2% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 30.0% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 29.0% | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 28.5% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 28.6% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 26.8% | -6.3% |
| 2005 | 26.3% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 25.1% | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 24.4% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 24.0% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 24.7% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 23.2% | -6.3% |
| 2011 | 22.8% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 22.1% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 22.0% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 21.6% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 20.0% | -7.8% |
| 2016 | 20.3% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 20.8% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 20.6% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 20.5% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 11.0% | -46.4% |
| 2021 | 11.7% | +6.6% |
| 2022 | 16.0% | +36.9% |
| 2023 | 18.5% | +15.2% |
| 2024 | 18.9% | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 20.4% | +8.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in European Union 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 | -46.4% | 20.5% | 11.0% |
| 2022 | +36.9% | 11.7% | 16.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 27.8% | 26.0% | 30.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 27.6% | 24.9% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.5% | 30.2% | 30.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.8% | 24.0% | 30.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.4% | 20.0% | 23.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.1% | 11.0% | 20.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near European Union
- 26 Comoros 39.9% compare
- 27 French Polynesia 39.7% compare
- 28 Macau, China 39.1% compare
- 29 Tuvalu 39.0% compare
- 30 Aruba 38.7% compare
- 31 Iraq 38.6% compare
- 32 Palestine, State of 38.3% compare
More private sector data for European Union
- Merchandise trade 70.9% (2025)
- Food imports 10.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 7.41 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 76.6% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 16,988 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3608 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.82 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in European Union?
- Travel services in European Union was 20.4% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 1988.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 2020.
- How does European Union rank for travel services?
- European Union ranks 29th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union 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.
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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.