Least developed countries: UN classification: Trade in services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Least developed countries: UN classification's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.66% to 8.43%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 3.03 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.28 percentage points in 2020. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.35 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 70% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

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.

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

All 45 values

Trade in services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 9.04% (2020)
• Algeria — 5.54% (2025)
• Bahrain — 64.65% (2025)
• Djibouti — 45.82% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 17.43% (2025)
• Iraq — 14.69% (2025)
• Israel — 24.1% (2025)
• Jordan — 27.21% (2024)
• Kuwait — 26.9% (2025)
• Lebanon — 72.45% (2023)
• Libya — 24.3% (2023)
• Malta

More economic policy & debt data for Least developed countries: UN classification

• GDP (current US$) — US$1.65 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,362 (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$1.35 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,112 (2025)
• GDP (annual % growth) — 4.3% (2025)
• GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.94% (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$44.93 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$9.99 million (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Least developed countries: UN classification's trade in services (% of GDP)?

8.43% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is up 0.93 percentage points from 7.5% in 1979. The highest value was 12.74% in 2008 and the lowest 7.04% in 1984.

Is the latest change in trade in services (% of GDP) unusual for Least developed countries: UN classification?

In 2024, Least developed countries: UN classification's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.66% to 8.43%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 BG.GSR.NFSV.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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