Trade in services (% of GDP) in South Korea
South Korea: Trade in services (% of GDP) was 17.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Trade in services in South Korea, 1976–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 17.9% for trade in services in 2025. That is the highest value across all 50 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.0% on the previous year and up 31.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, trade in services in South Korea peaked at 17.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 1991.
South Korea ranks 116th of 200 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Trade in services (% of GDP) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 8.9% | — |
| 1977 | 12.3% | +37.6% |
| 1978 | 13.7% | +11.5% |
| 1979 | 11.6% | -15.6% |
| 1980 | 13.2% | +13.6% |
| 1981 | 13.8% | +4.8% |
| 1982 | 14.0% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 12.1% | -13.3% |
| 1984 | 11.0% | -9.0% |
| 1985 | 9.2% | -16.3% |
| 1986 | 8.7% | -5.1% |
| 1987 | 8.8% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 7.6% | -13.9% |
| 1989 | 7.2% | -4.3% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 6.9% | -4.9% |
| 1992 | 6.9% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 7.2% | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 7.6% | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 8.6% | +12.0% |
| 1996 | 8.6% | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 9.8% | +13.4% |
| 1998 | 13.1% | +33.5% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | -17.9% |
| 2000 | 11.0% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 11.2% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 10.4% | -7.1% |
| 2003 | 10.5% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 11.6% | +10.8% |
| 2005 | 11.3% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 11.6% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 12.8% | +10.0% |
| 2008 | 17.3% | +35.2% |
| 2009 | 15.7% | -9.0% |
| 2010 | 15.1% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 14.8% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 15.8% | +7.1% |
| 2013 | 14.8% | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 13.6% | -6.7% |
| 2016 | 13.1% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 12.6% | -3.6% |
| 2018 | 13.0% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 13.4% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 11.3% | -15.8% |
| 2021 | 12.8% | +13.9% |
| 2022 | 15.3% | +19.5% |
| 2023 | 15.4% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 16.7% | +8.3% |
| 2025 | 17.9% | +7.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 17.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 32.3%, 55% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 17.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 26.5%, 67% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11.6% | 8.9% | 13.7% | 4 |
| 1980s | 10.6% | 7.2% | 14.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.7% | 6.9% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 10.4% | 17.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 12.6% | 15.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 11.3% | 17.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More economy & growth data for South Korea
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 7.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0085 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 307.17 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0062 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 224.29 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0047 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 168.75 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate -0.4147 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is trade in services in South Korea?
- Trade in services in South Korea was 17.9% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest trade in services recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17.9% in 2025.
- What is the lowest trade in services recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 1991.
- How does South Korea rank for trade in services?
- South Korea ranks 116th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is trade in services rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Trade in services (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total trade in services includes services provided by residents to non-residents plus services provided by non-residents to residents. 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.