Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in South Africa
South Africa: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 13.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in South Africa, 1960–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 13.2% for travel services in 2025.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 32.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in South Africa peaked at 41.2% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 7.4%, in 2021.
South Africa ranks 136th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 24.0% | — |
| 1961 | 27.2% | +13.4% |
| 1962 | 24.1% | -11.6% |
| 1963 | 20.2% | -16.2% |
| 1964 | 20.5% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 18.5% | -9.9% |
| 1966 | 19.4% | +4.9% |
| 1967 | 19.6% | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 20.4% | +4.2% |
| 1969 | 21.8% | +6.7% |
| 1970 | 23.8% | +9.0% |
| 1971 | 24.1% | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 27.0% | +12.0% |
| 1973 | 24.9% | -7.7% |
| 1974 | 25.6% | +3.0% |
| 1975 | 24.3% | -5.2% |
| 1976 | 26.1% | +7.4% |
| 1977 | 25.5% | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 23.6% | -7.4% |
| 1979 | 25.4% | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 24.2% | -4.5% |
| 1981 | 21.8% | -10.2% |
| 1982 | 23.2% | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 24.4% | +5.1% |
| 1984 | 23.9% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 19.9% | -16.8% |
| 1986 | 24.1% | +20.9% |
| 1987 | 28.7% | +19.1% |
| 1988 | 31.7% | +10.4% |
| 1989 | 27.5% | -13.2% |
| 1990 | 30.8% | +12.0% |
| 1991 | 31.7% | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 36.9% | +16.2% |
| 1993 | 41.2% | +11.7% |
| 1994 | 38.0% | -7.7% |
| 1995 | 32.1% | -15.6% |
| 1996 | 31.8% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 33.7% | +6.0% |
| 1998 | 34.8% | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 36.2% | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 36.7% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 36.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 33.7% | -8.2% |
| 2003 | 36.8% | +9.3% |
| 2004 | 31.4% | -14.8% |
| 2005 | 28.4% | -9.3% |
| 2006 | 24.8% | -12.9% |
| 2007 | 25.0% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 26.9% | +7.7% |
| 2009 | 28.2% | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 29.5% | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 26.2% | -11.1% |
| 2012 | 22.3% | -14.8% |
| 2013 | 19.6% | -12.3% |
| 2014 | 18.9% | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 19.6% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 19.2% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 20.1% | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 20.5% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 19.5% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 8.4% | -57.0% |
| 2021 | 7.4% | -12.4% |
| 2022 | 12.2% | +66.1% |
| 2023 | 13.1% | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 12.8% | -2.0% |
| 2025 | 13.2% | +2.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 13.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23.2%, 57% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 13.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.4%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in South Africa 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 | +66.1% | 7.4% | 12.2% |
| 2020 | -57.0% | 19.5% | 8.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 21.6% | 18.5% | 27.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 25.0% | 23.6% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 24.9% | 19.9% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.7% | 30.8% | 41.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.9% | 24.8% | 36.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.5% | 18.9% | 29.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.2% | 7.4% | 13.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More private sector data for South Africa
- Merchandise trade 57.2% (2025)
- Food imports 7.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 62.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 128.08 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 21.49 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.8% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 38.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 116.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 17.80 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,798 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in South Africa?
- Travel services in South Africa was 13.2% 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 Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 41.2% in 1993.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.4% in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for travel services?
- South Africa ranks 136th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.