Guinea-Bissau: Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) fell 2.38 percentage points on 2023 (from 33.31% to 30.92%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2023), the average change was −1.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.36 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 40.52 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau had the 15th highest value of the 29 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Guinea-Bissau in the 2024 ranking

• Mali — 11th of 29: 40.13%
• Mauritius — 12th of 29: 36.61%
• Namibia — 13th of 29: 34.69%
• Solomon Islands — 15th of 29: 27.41%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 16th of 29: 21.12%
• Marshall Islands — 17th of 29: 20.17%

What this measures

Computer, communications and other services include such activities as international telecommunications, and postal and courier services; computer data; news-related service transactions between residents and nonresidents; construction services; royalties and license fees; miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services; and personal, cultural, and recreational services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 37 values

Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 63.3% (2025)
• Benin — 4.36% (2023)
• Botswana — 36.08% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 40.79% (2024)
• Burundi — 72.28% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 8.28% (2025)
• Cameroon — 47.31% (2024)
• Comoros — 14.88% (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Guinea-Bissau

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$489 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$313 million (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 31.73% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 37.3% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 44.49% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.00341% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$322.03 million (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Guinea-Bissau's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)?

30.92% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1982?

It is up 1.51 percentage points from 29.41% in 1982. The highest value was 99.31% in 1992 and the lowest 10.48% in 2007.

How does Guinea-Bissau rank?

15th highest of 29 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) unusual for Guinea-Bissau?

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) fell 2.38 percentage points on 2023 (from 33.31% to 30.92%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2023), the average change was −1.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.23 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.OTHR.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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