Digital economy and technology

In 2021, amid the COVID-19 lockdown that disrupted many traditional trade flows, world digitally deliverable services exports increased by a remarkable 18 per cent. The expansion continued in 2022 and 2023, with upswings of 5 and 9 per cent, respectively. Three quarters of the exports, worth some $3 372 billion, originated from developed economies, leaving developing world exports at an estimated $1 090 billion for 2023. 

In 2023, exports of digitally deliverable services from developing economies grew by 9 per cent. The growth was prominent across all developing regions: Africa, Americas, Asia and Oceania. Their share in total services exports was 46 per cent, while for the developed world it stood at 61 per cent. It is estimated that about 95 per cent of digitally deliverable services have actually been digitally delivered since 2021. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the share hovered around 87 per cent.

Digitally deliverable services – those that can be delivered remotely over computer networks such as the Internet – now account for over half of all services exports worldwide and their share grew especially during the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, although exhibiting a slightly downward trend in recent years due to the bounce back of transport and travel post-COVID-19.