Low income: Trade in services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Low income's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 1.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.72% to 9.42%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2023), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.9 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.83 percentage points in 1985 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.7 percentage points in 1990. 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 21% 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

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 34 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 Low income

• GDP (current US$) — US$642.67 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$837.36 (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$627.91 billion (2025)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Austria (current US$) — US$57.58 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Belgium (current US$) — US$350.05 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Canada (current US$) — US$677.23 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, European Union institutions (current US$) — US$3.08 billion (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Switzerland (current US$) — US$483.76 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Germany (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Low income's trade in services (% of GDP)?

9.42% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is up 1.66 percentage points from 7.75% in 1980. The highest value was 13.68% in 2012 and the lowest 5.85% in 1991.

Is the latest change in trade in services (% of GDP) unusual for Low income?

In 2024, Low income's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 1.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 10.72% to 9.42%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2023), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.9 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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).

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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