South Africa's insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) was 5.58% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.46 percentage points from 4.12% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.58% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 5.56% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 4.12% | 2015 |
| Highest | 16.23% | 1962 |
| Lowest | 1.8% | 2009 |
| Average since 2016 | 4.69% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 15.64% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, South Africa's insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) fell 0.79 percentage points on 2024 (from 6.37% to 5.58%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 5.03 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.96 percentage points in 1996. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.23 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 51% 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 2025, South Africa had the 76th highest value of the 134 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 5.58% | 2025 |
| World | 9.53% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 8.42% | 2025 |
| Upper middle income | 5.81% | 2025 |
Closest to South Africa in the 2025 ranking
- Kosovo — 73rd of 134: 6.11%
- Spain — 74th of 134: 5.97%
- Malaysia — 75th of 134: 5.61%
- Kazakhstan — 77th of 134: 5.55%
- Bangladesh — 78th of 134: 5.46%
- West Bank and Gaza — 79th of 134: 5.32%
What this measures
Insurance and financial services cover various types of insurance provided to nonresidents by resident insurance enterprises and vice versa, and financial intermediary and auxiliary services (except those of insurance enterprises and pension funds) exchanged between residents and nonresidents. 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 66 values
| Year | Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.58 |
| 2024 | 6.37 |
| 2023 | 4.33 |
| 2022 | 4.51 |
| 2021 | 5.43 |
| 2020 | 5.56 |
| 2019 | 3.51 |
| 2018 | 3.93 |
| 2017 | 3.71 |
| 2016 | 3.98 |
| 2015 |
Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) in nearby economies
- Angola — 6.83% (2025)
- Benin — 2.66% (2023)
- Botswana — 0.57% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 16.1% (2024)
- Burundi — 10.15% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 3.51% (2025)
- Cameroon — 9.24% (2024)
- Comoros — 6.49% (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 18.25% (2025)
More economic policy & debt data for South Africa
- Trade in services (% of GDP) — 9.32% (2025)
- Communications, computer, etc. (% of service imports, BoP) — 44.9% (2025)
- Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) — US$20.32 billion (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$, BoP) — US$126.24 billion (2025)
- Goods imports (current US$, BoP) — US$104.47 billion (2025)
- Service imports (current US$, BoP) — US$21.77 billion (2025)
- Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$1.74 billion (2025)
- Imports of goods, services and primary income (current US$, BoP) — US$146.56 billion (2025)
- Transport services (% of service imports, BoP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP)?
- 5.58% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 10.06 percentage points from 15.64% in 1960. The highest value was 16.23% in 1962 and the lowest 1.8% in 2009.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 76th highest of 134 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) unusual for South Africa?
- In 2025, South Africa's insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) fell 0.79 percentage points on 2024 (from 6.37% to 5.58%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 BM.GSR.INSF.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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