Services, value added (% of GDP) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): Services, value added (% of GDP) was 50.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 1981–2025
Source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) is 50.2%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 54.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 39.0%, in 1985.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 33rd 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 (% of GDP) in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 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% | +2.8% |
| 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% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 48.5% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 49.2% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 48.4% | -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 | 51.0% | +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 | 49.9% | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 50.2% | +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 (IDA & IBRD countries)
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- GDP (current US$), per capita 1,673 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (constant 2015 US$), per unit 0.9096 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (constant 2015 US$), per 1,522 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- GDP (current US$), annual growth rate 11.12 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 1.12 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 4.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$), per capita 1,615 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.9653 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita 1,874 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 4.14 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 50.2% in 2025, according to Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs).
- What is the highest services, value added recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest services, value added recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.0% in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for services, value added?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is services, value added rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.
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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.