Trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Trade in services was 11.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa is 11.0%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.6% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 11.7% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 6.4%, in 1982.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 27th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 9.1% | — |
| 1978 | 9.8% | +7.9% |
| 1979 | 9.3% | -4.4% |
| 1980 | 9.5% | +1.9% |
| 1981 | 6.8% | -28.0% |
| 1982 | 6.4% | -6.6% |
| 1983 | 6.5% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 6.8% | +4.4% |
| 1985 | 7.4% | +8.7% |
| 1986 | 7.5% | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 7.4% | -1.4% |
| 1988 | 7.7% | +4.2% |
| 1989 | 8.3% | +8.4% |
| 1990 | 8.4% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 7.8% | -7.0% |
| 1992 | 9.0% | +15.1% |
| 1993 | 9.5% | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 9.1% | -3.6% |
| 1995 | 7.5% | -18.2% |
| 1996 | 7.1% | -4.4% |
| 1997 | 6.9% | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 7.1% | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 11.2% | +57.4% |
| 2000 | 10.6% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 11.4% | +7.6% |
| 2002 | 11.0% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 10.6% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 10.3% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 10.0% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 10.4% | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 11.0% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 11.7% | +6.8% |
| 2009 | 11.0% | -6.0% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 10.9% | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 10.5% | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 10.0% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 10.3% | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 10.2% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 10.1% | -7.9% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | -21.7% |
| 2021 | 7.7% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 8.8% | +13.1% |
| 2023 | 9.9% | +13.2% |
| 2024 | 11.0% | +10.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.4% | 9.1% | 9.8% | 3 |
| 1980s | 7.4% | 6.4% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.4% | 6.9% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 10.0% | 11.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.4% | 10.0% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.1% | 7.7% | 11.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9902 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2516 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 8.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), 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)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2438 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 5.43 % change on previous year (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per capita 1,657 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 420.94 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Trade in services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 11.0% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest trade in services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.7% in 2008.
- What is the lowest trade in services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.4% in 1982.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for trade in services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 27th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is trade in services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Trade in services (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 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.