Namibia: Travel services (% of service imports, BoP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Namibia's travel services (% of service imports, BoP) rose 1.16 percentage points on 2023 (from 3.45% to 4.62%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.38 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above 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 9.38 percentage points in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.14 percentage points in 2009. 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 0.84 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 37% 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

In 2024, Namibia had the 21st highest value of the 28 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 Namibia in the 2024 ranking

• Cameroon — 17th of 28: 7.66%
• Burkina Faso — 18th of 28: 6.98%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 19th of 28: 6.72%
• Ethiopia — 21st of 28: 4.55%
• Sierra Leone — 22nd of 28: 4.33%
• Malta — 23rd of 28: 3.88%

What this measures

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.

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

All 35 values

Travel services (% of service imports, BoP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 16.31% (2025)
• Benin — 3.33% (2023)
• Botswana — 9.37% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 6.98% (2024)
• Burundi — 8.87% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 28.24% (2025)
• Cameroon — 7.66% (2024)
• Comoros — 39.55% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 5.85% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 2.74% (2021)

More economic policy & debt data for Namibia

• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 8.92% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (current US$) — US$106.2 million (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$262.77 million (2021)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$3.36 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 60.11 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$3.51 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 45.2 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 22.28% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Namibia's travel services (% of service imports, BoP)?

4.62% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 12.61 percentage points from 17.22% in 1990. The highest value was 36.55% in 2003 and the lowest 3.45% in 2023.

How does Namibia rank?

21st highest of 28 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in travel services (% of service imports, BoP) unusual for Namibia?

In 2024, Namibia's travel services (% of service imports, BoP) rose 1.16 percentage points on 2023 (from 3.45% to 4.62%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.38 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above 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 BM.GSR.TRVL.ZS, 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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