Panama: Trade in services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Panama's trade in services (% of GDP) rose 0.74 percentage points on 2024 (from 28.12% to 28.86%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.47 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 9.51 percentage points in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.08 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 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% 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 2025, Panama had the 50th highest value of the 135 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 Panama in the 2025 ranking

• United Kingdom — 47th of 135: 29.25%
• Tunisia — 48th of 135: 29.15%
• Portugal — 49th of 135: 28.93%
• El Salvador — 51st of 135: 27.66%
• Morocco — 52nd of 135: 27.6%
• Malaysia — 53rd of 135: 27.27%

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 49 values

Trade in services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 78.09% (2025)
• Argentina — 7.07% (2025)
• Aruba — 111.26% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 52.86% (2024)
• Barbados — 37.79% (2017)
• Belize — 47.07% (2025)
• Bolivia — 5.6% (2025)
• Brazil — 7% (2025)
• Chile — 9.78% (2025)
• Colombia — 8.74% (2025)
• Costa Rica — 25.95% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Panama

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$6.24 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$6.24 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$88.24 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 88.24 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$90.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 90.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$80.68 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 84.75 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$19,790 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 19,790 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

28.86% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 6.72 percentage points from 22.14% in 1977. The highest value was 36.37% in 2011 and the lowest 19.94% in 2020.

How does Panama rank?

50th highest of 135 economies with data for 2025.

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

In 2025, Panama's trade in services (% of GDP) rose 0.74 percentage points on 2024 (from 28.12% to 28.86%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.47 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 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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