Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in United States
United States: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 21.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in United States, 1970–2025
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 United States stood at 21.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in United States peaked at 44.1% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 2020.
United States ranks 88th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in United States, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 43.9% | — |
| 1971 | 43.7% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 43.9% | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 40.6% | -7.4% |
| 1974 | 38.2% | -6.0% |
| 1975 | 39.1% | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 36.5% | -6.6% |
| 1977 | 36.5% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 36.4% | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 35.3% | -3.1% |
| 1980 | 36.0% | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 36.8% | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 34.3% | -6.7% |
| 1983 | 34.1% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 44.1% | +29.0% |
| 1985 | 43.5% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 40.6% | -6.6% |
| 1987 | 40.2% | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 40.2% | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 39.8% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 38.7% | -3.0% |
| 1991 | 36.0% | -6.9% |
| 1992 | 38.2% | +6.0% |
| 1993 | 38.1% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 37.3% | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 35.9% | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 35.7% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 35.4% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 35.2% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 35.0% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 33.8% | -3.3% |
| 2001 | 31.9% | -5.7% |
| 2002 | 29.3% | -8.2% |
| 2003 | 28.4% | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 28.2% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 27.5% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 25.6% | -7.1% |
| 2007 | 24.3% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 22.8% | -6.1% |
| 2009 | 23.1% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 22.3% | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 21.5% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 21.7% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 21.7% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 21.6% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 22.4% | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 23.0% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 23.0% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 24.1% | +4.8% |
| 2019 | 23.9% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 7.8% | -67.2% |
| 2021 | 11.1% | +40.9% |
| 2022 | 17.9% | +62.3% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | +23.0% |
| 2024 | 22.2% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 21.8% | -1.8% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 21.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.8%, 1.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in United States 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 | -67.2% | 23.9% | 7.8% |
| 2022 | +62.3% | 11.1% | 17.9% |
| 2021 | +40.9% | 7.8% | 11.1% |
| 1984 | +29.0% | 34.1% | 44.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 39.4% | 35.3% | 43.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 39.0% | 34.1% | 44.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.5% | 35.0% | 38.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.5% | 22.8% | 33.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 21.5% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.2% | 7.8% | 22.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More private sector data for United States
- Merchandise trade 18.5% (2025)
- Food imports 6.7% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 78.8% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 3.51 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 884.71 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 9.0% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 54.9% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 2.19 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 1.21 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 6,394 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in United States?
- Travel services in United States was 21.8% 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 States?
- The highest recorded value was 44.1% in 1984.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for travel services?
- United States ranks 88th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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
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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.