Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Travel services was 35.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service exports, BoP.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 35.3% for travel services in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and down 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 49.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 21.7%, in 2020.
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 17th of 45 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.
Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of service exports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 35.6% | — |
| 1978 | 30.7% | -13.6% |
| 1979 | 29.5% | -4.1% |
| 1980 | 30.9% | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 32.8% | +6.4% |
| 1982 | 34.3% | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 38.5% | +12.2% |
| 1984 | 37.2% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 31.7% | -14.7% |
| 1986 | 36.9% | +16.4% |
| 1987 | 39.0% | +5.5% |
| 1988 | 39.1% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 36.9% | -5.6% |
| 1990 | 35.7% | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 38.3% | +7.3% |
| 1992 | 36.7% | -4.3% |
| 1993 | 36.0% | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 40.5% | +12.6% |
| 1995 | 40.6% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 42.8% | +5.2% |
| 1997 | 44.2% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 45.1% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 42.5% | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 39.5% | -7.1% |
| 2001 | 41.0% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 40.9% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 46.7% | +14.1% |
| 2004 | 46.3% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 49.6% | +7.2% |
| 2006 | 46.6% | -6.0% |
| 2007 | 48.5% | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 45.4% | -6.4% |
| 2009 | 46.3% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 43.6% | -5.9% |
| 2011 | 41.9% | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 43.0% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 42.7% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 44.0% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 39.2% | -10.8% |
| 2016 | 41.1% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 42.3% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 41.1% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 38.8% | -5.4% |
| 2020 | 21.7% | -44.2% |
| 2021 | 23.0% | +6.2% |
| 2022 | 32.4% | +40.8% |
| 2023 | 34.9% | +7.8% |
| 2024 | 35.3% | +1.1% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -44.2% | 38.8% | 21.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 31.9% | 29.5% | 35.6% | 3 |
| 1980s | 35.7% | 30.9% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.2% | 35.7% | 45.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.1% | 39.5% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.8% | 38.8% | 44.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.5% | 21.7% | 35.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- 14 Antigua and Barbuda 84.3% compare
- 15 Jamaica 82.1% compare
- 16 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 80.8% compare
- 17 Sao Tome and Principe 80.8% compare
- 18 Dominican Republic 78.4% compare
- 19 Cape Verde 78.3% compare
- 20 Saint Kitts and Nevis 78.2% compare
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$) 0.147 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (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$) 7.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 0.8257 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 1,380 current US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 8.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per capita 1,655 current US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9901 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 3.8 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 35.3% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 49.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.7% in 2020.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for travel services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 17th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.8%. 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 Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of service exports, BoP). 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
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are services provided by residents to non-residents.