Services, value added (% of GDP) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Services, value added (% of GDP) was 50.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 is 50.2%, measured in 2025.
The figure 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 peaked at 54.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 39.0%, in 1985.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 33rd of 47 groups on this measure, 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, 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
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, per capita 25.84 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0103 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, per capita 17.18 units per person (2025)
- Lending to the IMF (GRA), SDR, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0154 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDR Allocation, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0113 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF Quota, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0104 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF Quota, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate -9.38 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Services, value added in Sub-Saharan Africa 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?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest services, value added recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.0% in 1985.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for services, value added?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is services, value added rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 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 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.