Commerce international

Among main service categories, travel exports recorded the highest growth in 2024 (13%). While in other parts of the world travel had recovered from the pandemic closedowns earlier, in Asia it was still regaining lost ground during 2024. Transport services were also on the recovery from the 2023 trade slowdown, marking an 8% growth in 2024. Most other services categories either showed resilience to the recent years' economic setbacks, or were directly boosted during pandemic closedowns, taking a growth momentum which continued thereafter. This is particularly true of telecommunications and computer services that increased by 11% in 2024. The remaining digitally deliverable services  - like insurance, financial services, other business services, and intellectual property charges - also witnessed a strong expansion in 2024 (combined growth of 8%). 
 

In 2024, digitally deliverable exports increased by 9%, following a 10% rise measured for 2023. Three quarters of the exports, worth about $3 680 billion, originated from developed economies, while the developing world exported an estimated $1 180 billion in 2024. Both groups experienced similar growth in this sector. However, the gap between a relatively small number of more successful developing-economy exporters and those who strugle to increase their market share has widened.

Digitally delivered international  trade has been on a sustained rise since 2010, additionally boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that about 95% of digitally deliverable services have actually been digitally delivered since 2021. Before the pandemic, the share hovered around 87%. The international trade measurement standards stipulate that digitally delivered products are classified as services.

While travel and transport were severely hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, exports of telecommunications and computer services surged everywhere in 2018-2023, recording the highest average annual growth in Asia (14%). Exports of digitally tradable services – such as insurance, financial and other business services, and intellectual property charges – also witnessed a solid five-year increase. Their highest upswing was reported by Asian economies, which also registered the highest average growth in exports of transport services over the period. 

Travel was severely restricted during the pandemic and the regions losing largest relative shares of international tourism revenues were Asia and Oceania. A negative five-year average growth rate in travel exports was also recorded by Northern America. From 2018 to the end of 2023, international travel receipts of Africa, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean maintained an overall rising trend. Despite 2020 and 2021 drops, these three regions saw a faster recovery of international tourism and related travel receipts in 2022 and 2023.

Transport and travel remain the most exported services from developing economies of Africa and the Americas at over 62 and 57% of all services sold abroad, respectively. Developing economies in Asia capture increased shares of international services and are diversifying their services trade into knowledge-intensive services, accounting for almost a half of their services exports in 2023. Knowledge-intensive services cover insurance, financial, telecommunication, computer, information, and other business services, as well as intellectual property charges. These products – mostly digitally tradable – represent almost two thirds of services exported from developed economies.