Timor-Leste: Transport services (% of commercial service exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Timor-Leste's transport services (% of commercial service exports) rose 9.07 percentage points on 2024 (from 1.95% to 11.02%).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2024), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 12.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.07 percentage points in 2025 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.52 percentage points in 2022. 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 18% 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, Timor-Leste had the 90th 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.

Closest to Timor-Leste in the 2025 ranking

• Mexico — 87th of 134: 11.24%
• Cabo Verde — 88th of 134: 11.09%
• Thailand — 89th of 134: 11.03%
• Albania — 91st of 134: 10.97%
• Switzerland — 92nd of 134: 10.61%
• Spain — 93rd of 134: 10.23%

What this measures

Transport is 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 exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

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

All 20 values

Transport services (% of commercial service exports) in nearby economies

• Australia — 6.14% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 53.24% (2025)
• Cambodia — 13.83% (2025)
• China — 18.42% (2025)
• Fiji — 39.94% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 36.16% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 30.58% (2025)
• Indonesia — 14.32% (2025)
• Japan — 12.95% (2025)
• Kiribati

More private sector & trade data for Timor-Leste

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 56.88% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$979 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$103 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports) — 2.15% (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise exports) — 0.27% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$165.55 million (2023)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100)

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 Timor-Leste's transport services (% of commercial service exports)?

11.02% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 10.03 percentage points from 0.99% in 2006. The highest value was 11.02% in 2025 and the lowest 0.77% in 2007.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

90th highest of 134 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in transport services (% of commercial service exports) unusual for Timor-Leste?

In 2025, Timor-Leste's transport services (% of commercial service exports) rose 9.07 percentage points on 2024 (from 1.95% to 11.02%). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2024), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 12.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.TRAN.ZS.WT, 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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