Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in European Union
European Union: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 18.9% 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 18.9%.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and down 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in European Union peaked at 32.2% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 2020.
European Union ranks 36th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) 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% |
| 1991 | 30.4% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 31.2% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 29.7% | -5.1% |
| 1994 | 31.1% | +4.8% |
| 1995 | 31.0% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 32.2% | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 31.1% | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 30.4% | -2.3% |
| 1999 | 30.2% | -0.7% |
| 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 | 16.1% | +36.9% |
| 2023 | 18.4% | +14.6% |
| 2024 | 18.6% | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 18.9% | +1.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) 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% | 16.1% |
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 | 30.8% | 29.7% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.8% | 24.0% | 30.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.4% | 20.0% | 23.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 11.0% | 18.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More private sector data for European Union
- Merchandise trade 70.9% (2025)
- Food imports 11.3% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 71.5% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 7.41 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 3.21 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.4% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 76.5% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 7.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 3.58 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 16,988 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in European Union?
- Travel services in European Union was 18.9% 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 32.2% in 1996.
- 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 36th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. 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.
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 imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.