Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Services, value added was 50.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1981–2025
Source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) stood at 50.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 54.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 39.0%, in 1985.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 35th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 44.2% | — |
| 1982 | 45.0% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 43.9% | -2.5% |
| 1984 | 42.8% | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 39.0% | -8.8% |
| 1986 | 42.9% | +10.0% |
| 1987 | 44.4% | +3.5% |
| 1988 | 43.4% | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 43.3% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 44.6% | +3.0% |
| 1991 | 45.6% | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 47.9% | +5.1% |
| 1993 | 48.7% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 50.1% | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 48.1% | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 45.4% | -5.5% |
| 1997 | 45.6% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 48.1% | +5.4% |
| 1999 | 50.0% | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 50.1% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 49.5% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 46.3% | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 48.6% | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 49.3% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 48.5% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 49.2% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 48.3% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 46.9% | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 50.8% | +8.4% |
| 2010 | 51.7% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 50.6% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 50.5% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 50.9% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 51.5% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 54.0% | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 54.1% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 52.9% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 51.8% | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 51.9% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 51.3% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 50.3% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 49.3% | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 49.3% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 49.8% | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 50.1% | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 43.2% | 39.0% | 45.0% | 9 |
| 1990s | 47.4% | 44.6% | 50.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.7% | 46.3% | 50.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.0% | 50.5% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.0% | 49.3% | 51.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 4.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 245.62 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 7.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -2.63 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 0.8257 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 1,380 current US$ per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 1,188 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per capita 1,655 current US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 8.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 0.147 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 50.1% in 2025, according to Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs).
- What is the highest services, value added recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest services, value added recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.0% in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for services, value added?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 35th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is services, value added rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), published as part of Services, value added (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Services industries correspond to ISIC (Rev. 4) divisions 45-99 and includes wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities, public administration and defence, compulsory social security, education, health and social work, other community, social and personal service activities, private households with employed persons, and extra-territorial organizations and bodies. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.