Travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Travel services was 25.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1970–2025
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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is 25.1%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 24.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 41.8% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 12.7%, in 2020.
That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 64th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 14.7% | — |
| 1971 | 14.9% | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 16.9% | +13.2% |
| 1973 | 17.5% | +3.9% |
| 1974 | 14.1% | -19.6% |
| 1975 | 16.1% | +14.4% |
| 1976 | 15.8% | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 15.9% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 19.8% | +24.6% |
| 1979 | 22.5% | +13.3% |
| 1980 | 25.4% | +12.9% |
| 1981 | 27.1% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 28.2% | +4.1% |
| 1983 | 29.6% | +5.0% |
| 1984 | 30.0% | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 31.0% | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 35.7% | +15.0% |
| 1987 | 39.7% | +11.4% |
| 1988 | 40.8% | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 41.3% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 41.0% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 39.8% | -3.0% |
| 1992 | 40.6% | +2.2% |
| 1993 | 40.5% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 39.9% | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 39.9% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 37.6% | -5.8% |
| 1997 | 37.8% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 39.0% | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 41.8% | +7.1% |
| 2000 | 41.5% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 41.2% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 41.1% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 40.5% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 39.1% | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 38.7% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 36.9% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 38.0% | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 37.3% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 35.4% | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 35.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 34.4% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 34.6% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 33.4% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 33.4% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 33.1% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 32.6% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 32.0% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 30.5% | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 30.6% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 12.7% | -58.5% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 25.2% | +91.6% |
| 2023 | 27.0% | +7.2% |
| 2024 | 25.3% | -6.3% |
| 2025 | 25.1% | -0.6% |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 25.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.3%, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 25.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 20.8%, 1.2× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 | +91.6% | 13.1% | 25.2% |
| 2020 | -58.5% | 30.6% | 12.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.8% | 14.1% | 22.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 32.9% | 25.4% | 41.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.8% | 37.6% | 41.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.0% | 35.4% | 41.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.0% | 30.5% | 35.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 12.7% | 27.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More private sector data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Merchandise trade 37.6% (2025)
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 56.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 948.64 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 59.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 555.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,999 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1389 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.02 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Travel services in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 25.1% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 41.8% in 1999.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.7% in 2020.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for travel services?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 64th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 — 56 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.