Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Travel services was 14.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa is 14.4%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and down 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 26.7% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2021.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 43rd out of 47 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.
Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 18.1% | — |
| 1978 | 16.4% | -9.4% |
| 1979 | 17.4% | +6.6% |
| 1980 | 18.5% | +6.0% |
| 1981 | 17.2% | -6.7% |
| 1982 | 19.3% | +12.0% |
| 1983 | 18.3% | -5.2% |
| 1984 | 17.1% | -6.8% |
| 1985 | 14.2% | -17.0% |
| 1986 | 15.9% | +12.4% |
| 1987 | 17.6% | +10.4% |
| 1988 | 19.3% | +9.7% |
| 1989 | 21.5% | +11.3% |
| 1990 | 21.3% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 22.4% | +5.1% |
| 1992 | 22.2% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 23.1% | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 25.2% | +9.3% |
| 1995 | 23.1% | -8.5% |
| 1996 | 23.2% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 25.2% | +8.6% |
| 1998 | 25.8% | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 24.0% | -6.9% |
| 2000 | 24.9% | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 24.8% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 26.7% | +10.7% |
| 2004 | 23.3% | -12.6% |
| 2005 | 20.4% | -12.4% |
| 2006 | 22.4% | +9.4% |
| 2007 | 23.3% | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 24.0% | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 22.2% | -7.6% |
| 2010 | 21.3% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 19.8% | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 17.7% | -10.5% |
| 2013 | 16.9% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 16.2% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 17.6% | +8.6% |
| 2016 | 15.3% | -13.1% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | +18.7% |
| 2018 | 17.5% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 17.7% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 11.4% | -35.6% |
| 2021 | 11.2% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | +14.2% |
| 2023 | 14.1% | +10.6% |
| 2024 | 14.4% | +2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17.3% | 16.4% | 18.1% | 3 |
| 1980s | 17.9% | 14.2% | 21.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.5% | 21.3% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.6% | 20.4% | 26.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.8% | 15.3% | 21.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.8% | 11.2% | 14.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More private sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Merchandise trade 44.5% (2025)
- Food imports 12.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 56.8% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 501.15 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 14.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 19.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 486.80 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 368.33 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2201 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 11.24 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 14.4% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 26.7% in 2003.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2021.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for travel services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 43rd out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 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.