International trade

In another year of solid growth, global services exports reached $8.8 trillion in 2024, marking a 9% annual increase. Region-wise, the highest growth was recorded in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (13%), partly reflecting a recovery of international transport and travel for the region, and partly a continued expansion of other services trade. After the pandemic slowdown in 2020-2022, most other regions had already recovered the international travel receipts before 2024. Consequently, the services exports growth they witnessed in 2024 was more based on services such as financial, computer, telecommunications, business, professional, technical services, etc. Most of those services can be digitally delivered and their international trade continued booming in 2024 across the globe, with relatively higher growth rates registered for Southern Asia, Europe, and Latin America. 

With over $1.1 trillion worth of services exports in 2024, the United States of America remained the world leading exporter by a large margin, capturing some 13% of the global market. It was followed, at some distance, by the United Kingdom ($649 billion). Ireland ($519 billion) made it to the top three for the first time.

China, the leading exporter among developing economies, ranked fifth overall ($446 billion). The top five services exporters from the developing world were all Asian. It is estimated that they captured 16% of the global market in 2024 and accounted for 55% of developing economies' total services exports.

The world leading importers remained the United States of America and China ($812 and $611 billion, respectively).

Looking at the trends by development status and region, services exports marked a solid growth in all groups of economies in 2023 (between 6.7 and 12.2% annual rise). The growth of services imports varied more, from a modest 0.8% in Africa to a strong 11% in developing Asia and Oceania. While in most areas, imports increased more than exports, the latter grew significantly faster than imports in Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean (developing Americas).