Travel services in South Asia
South Asia: Travel services was 17.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in South Asia, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service imports, BoP.
Analysis
In 2025, travel services in South Asia stood at 17.3%.
The figure is down 5.1% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in South Asia peaked at 19.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 1975.
That places South Asia 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Travel services in South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of service imports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 2.2% | — |
| 1976 | 4.1% | +86.1% |
| 1977 | 4.4% | +7.4% |
| 1978 | 6.3% | +42.5% |
| 1979 | 6.2% | -2.5% |
| 1980 | 4.8% | -22.5% |
| 1981 | 5.5% | +14.3% |
| 1982 | 6.2% | +13.1% |
| 1983 | 6.7% | +8.8% |
| 1984 | 9.0% | +33.3% |
| 1985 | 9.6% | +7.4% |
| 1986 | 8.7% | -9.2% |
| 1987 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 9.2% | +5.8% |
| 1989 | 9.1% | -1.8% |
| 1990 | 7.9% | -12.6% |
| 1991 | 8.8% | +11.0% |
| 1992 | 8.9% | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 10.1% | +13.8% |
| 1994 | 12.0% | +18.4% |
| 1995 | 11.8% | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 10.0% | -15.6% |
| 1997 | 12.0% | +20.2% |
| 1998 | 12.5% | +4.5% |
| 1999 | 12.5% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 14.7% | +17.2% |
| 2001 | 15.0% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 14.3% | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 14.5% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 13.8% | -5.1% |
| 2005 | 13.1% | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 11.9% | -9.5% |
| 2007 | 11.9% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | +42.4% |
| 2009 | 17.6% | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 13.5% | -23.4% |
| 2011 | 17.0% | +26.3% |
| 2012 | 15.6% | -8.4% |
| 2013 | 15.3% | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 17.9% | +17.5% |
| 2015 | 18.1% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 17.5% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 17.4% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 17.6% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 18.0% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 10.8% | -39.9% |
| 2021 | 10.3% | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | +44.4% |
| 2023 | 19.3% | +29.3% |
| 2024 | 18.2% | -5.6% |
| 2025 | 17.3% | -5.1% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in South Asia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +86.1% | 2.2% | 4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.7% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 5 |
| 1980s | 7.8% | 4.8% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.7% | 7.9% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.4% | 11.9% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.8% | 13.5% | 18.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.1% | 10.3% | 19.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
- 31 Macau, China 37.8% compare
- 32 Bosnia and Herzegovina 37.6% compare
- 33 Aruba 37.5% compare
- 34 Rwanda 36.7% compare
- 35 Brunei Darussalam 36.4% compare
- 36 Serbia 36.2% compare
- 37 Iceland 36.1% compare
More economy & growth data for South Asia
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 1,589 current US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 6.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 0.0821 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 221.99 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 5.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 0.5874 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 0.5559 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 5.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 1,504 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$), per 275.19 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in South Asia?
- Travel services in South Asia was 17.3% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 19.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 1975.
- How does South Asia rank for travel services?
- South Asia ranks 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia 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 imports, BoP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 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 imports which are services provided by non-residents to residents.