International trade

All main service categories witnessed a solid expansion in 2024 compared to the previous year. Still recovering from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel registered the highest annual growth rate among main categories of services exported (+13.6%). International transport sales recovered from the previous year slowdown (+8.3% in 2024). Telecommunications, computer, and information services experienced another year of genuine strong growth (11.1%), riding on rising demand for new technologies. Exports of financial, insurance, and intellectual-property-related services and of other business services gained 9.3% in 2024, as digitally tradable products corresponding to these service categories have become ever more demanded globally.

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.

Travel and transport remain the categories of services exported most by African and American developing economies, accounting for 60% and 59% of their services sold abroad, respectively. Developing economies in Asia are diversifying their services trade expanding especially into knowledge-intensive services, in 2024 already accounting for almost a half of their services exports. Knowledge-intensive services comprise insurance, financial, telecommunication, computer, information, and other business services, as well as intellectual property charges. These - mostly digitally tradable - products represent over 60% of services exported from developed economies.

UNCTAD's statistics indicate that developing economies captured 30% global services exports in 2024, a significant improvement compared to 21% recorded for 2005. Most of these additional market shares were won by Asian exporters.