Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Insurance and financial services was 8.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service imports, BoP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa is 8.2%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
That represents a change of up 23.8% on the previous year and up 69.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 8.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.2%, in 2009.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 23rd of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.
Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of service imports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 6.4% | — |
| 1978 | 6.9% | +8.3% |
| 1979 | 6.6% | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 6.0% | -8.8% |
| 1981 | 6.5% | +8.0% |
| 1982 | 6.3% | -2.7% |
| 1983 | 7.0% | +11.4% |
| 1984 | 6.8% | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 6.3% | -7.9% |
| 1986 | 6.7% | +6.9% |
| 1987 | 6.3% | -5.7% |
| 1988 | 5.6% | -11.5% |
| 1989 | 5.4% | -3.8% |
| 1990 | 5.7% | +5.3% |
| 1991 | 5.0% | -12.6% |
| 1992 | 5.4% | +8.9% |
| 1993 | 5.1% | -6.1% |
| 1994 | 5.2% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 7.2% | +40.4% |
| 1996 | 5.5% | -23.8% |
| 1997 | 5.8% | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 5.6% | -3.9% |
| 1999 | 5.0% | -11.2% |
| 2000 | 4.6% | -7.1% |
| 2001 | 4.6% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 4.4% | -5.8% |
| 2003 | 5.7% | +30.7% |
| 2004 | 5.8% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -10.8% |
| 2006 | 4.9% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 4.2% | -13.1% |
| 2008 | 5.7% | +35.5% |
| 2009 | 4.2% | -27.3% |
| 2010 | 4.6% | +10.9% |
| 2011 | 4.3% | -6.6% |
| 2012 | 4.5% | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 4.8% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 4.9% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 5.2% | +7.0% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | +10.6% |
| 2018 | 5.1% | -14.7% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | -7.5% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | +31.8% |
| 2021 | 6.9% | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 6.2% | -10.1% |
| 2023 | 6.6% | +6.9% |
| 2024 | 8.2% | +23.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.6% | 6.4% | 6.9% | 3 |
| 1980s | 6.3% | 5.4% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.5% | 5.0% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.9% | 4.2% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 4.3% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.8% | 6.2% | 8.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 407.9 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 4.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 4.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per capita 466.42 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 8.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 5.43 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2311 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per capita 386.71 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2516 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Insurance and financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 8.2% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.2% in 2009.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for insurance and financial services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 23rd out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 69.3%. 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 Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Insurance and financial services cover various types of insurance provided to nonresidents by resident insurance enterprises and vice versa, and financial intermediary and auxiliary services (except those of insurance enterprises and pension funds) exchanged between residents and nonresidents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are services provided by non-residents to residents.