Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD): Trade in services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s trade in services (% of GDP) rose 0.97 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.8% to 10.77%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 4.08 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.66 percentage points in 1981. 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 9% 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 48 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)

• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$3.07 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$459.34 million (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$2.21 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.13 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,673 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,615 (2025)
• GDP (annual % growth) — 4.14% (2025)
• GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.64% (2025)
• Charges for the use of intellectual property, receipts (BoP, current US$)

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s trade in services (% of GDP)?

10.77% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 1.72 percentage points from 9.05% in 1977. The highest value was 11.74% in 2008 and the lowest 6.39% in 1982.

Is the latest change in trade in services (% of GDP) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s trade in services (% of GDP) rose 0.97 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.8% to 10.77%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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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