South Africa's transport services (% of service imports, BoP) was 36.47% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 3.33 percentage points from 39.8% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 36.47% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 34.37% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 39.8% | 2015 |
| Highest | 48.04% | 1960 |
| Lowest | 31.62% | 1978 |
| Average since 2016 | 37.75% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 48.04% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, South Africa's transport services (% of service imports, BoP) fell 0.46 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.94% to 36.47%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 6.68 percentage points in 1974 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.54 percentage points in 1977. 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 7% 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, South Africa had the 36th 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 | 36.47% | 2025 |
| World | 18.72% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 35.2% | 2025 |
| Upper middle income | 23.06% | 2025 |
Closest to South Africa in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Transport services covers the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. 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 | Transport services (% of service imports, BoP) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 36.47 |
| 2024 | 36.94 |
| 2023 | 39.7 |
| 2022 | 43.72 |
| 2021 | 37.82 |
| 2020 | 34.37 |
| 2019 | 37.69 |
| 2018 | 38.25 |
| 2017 | 36.71 |
| 2016 | 35.87 |
| 2015 |
Transport services (% of service imports, BoP) in nearby economies
- Angola — 39.4% (2025)
- Benin — 40.99% (2023)
- Botswana — 25.53% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 51.02% (2024)
- Burundi — 57.8% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 29.68% (2025)
- Cameroon — 45.93% (2024)
- Comoros — 40.55% (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 44.37% (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — 33.24% (2021)
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$126.24 billion (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) — 5.58% (2025)
- Goods imports (current US$, 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)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's transport services (% of service imports, BoP)?
- 36.47% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 11.57 percentage points from 48.04% in 1960. The highest value was 48.04% in 1960 and the lowest 31.62% in 1978.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 36th highest of 134 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in transport services (% of service imports, BoP) unusual for South Africa?
- In 2025, South Africa's transport services (% of service imports, BoP) fell 0.46 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.94% to 36.47%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.TRAN.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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