Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Travel services was 35.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service exports, BoP.
Analysis
In 2024, travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 35.7%.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 49.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2020.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 15th out of 45 groups with data for 2024, putting it 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, year by year
| Year | % of service exports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 35.8% | — |
| 1978 | 31.0% | -13.3% |
| 1979 | 29.8% | -3.9% |
| 1980 | 31.2% | +4.5% |
| 1981 | 33.0% | +6.0% |
| 1982 | 34.4% | +4.1% |
| 1983 | 38.5% | +12.0% |
| 1984 | 37.3% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 31.9% | -14.4% |
| 1986 | 37.1% | +16.2% |
| 1987 | 39.1% | +5.5% |
| 1988 | 39.4% | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 37.4% | -4.9% |
| 1990 | 36.3% | -2.9% |
| 1991 | 38.7% | +6.6% |
| 1992 | 37.2% | -3.9% |
| 1993 | 36.3% | -2.4% |
| 1994 | 40.7% | +12.1% |
| 1995 | 40.8% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 43.1% | +5.6% |
| 1997 | 44.5% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 45.2% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 42.6% | -5.8% |
| 2000 | 39.7% | -6.9% |
| 2001 | 41.1% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 41.2% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 46.8% | +13.7% |
| 2004 | 46.4% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 49.6% | +7.1% |
| 2006 | 46.7% | -5.9% |
| 2007 | 48.8% | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 45.6% | -6.5% |
| 2009 | 46.5% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 43.8% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 42.0% | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 43.1% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 42.9% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 44.1% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 39.3% | -10.7% |
| 2016 | 41.5% | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 42.6% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 41.3% | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 39.1% | -5.2% |
| 2020 | 22.0% | -43.8% |
| 2021 | 23.6% | +7.0% |
| 2022 | 33.0% | +39.9% |
| 2023 | 35.4% | +7.4% |
| 2024 | 35.7% | +0.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 | -43.8% | 39.1% | 22.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 32.2% | 29.8% | 35.8% | 3 |
| 1980s | 35.9% | 31.2% | 39.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.5% | 36.3% | 45.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.2% | 39.7% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.0% | 39.1% | 44.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.9% | 22.0% | 35.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 12 Tuvalu 84.5% compare
- 13 Syrian Arab Republic 84.4% compare
- 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
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 4.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2382 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 3.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per capita 384.35 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2297 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 8.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 358.68 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2144 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (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$), per capita 1,874 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Travel services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 35.7% 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?
- The highest recorded value was 49.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2020.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for travel services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 15th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.0%. 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 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.