Developing economies services trade continued to grow, while developed countries recorded a slight decrease. According to preliminary estimates by UNCTAD and WTO, world services exports grew by modest 2% in 2012. All regions except Africa experienced a much lower growth than in 2011.
The observed 2012 services exports' expansion (balance-of-payments basis, current prices) was led by the developing economies of Asia (8%) and America (6%), and the transition economies (7%).
Exports of services from developed countries were somewhat lower than in 2011, with most significant decline perceived in Europe (-3%). Northern American developed countries managed to achieve better exports results (4% increase) than other developed regions.
Developing economies' share in the world trade continues to improve. They now hold 30% of the global services market, while in year 2000 that share stood at 23%.
World and regional trade estimates are aggregated from individual reporters' balance-of-payments statistics taken from IMF, Eurostat, UNSD, OECD, and other international organizations. Figures are supplemented with estimates for missing data, as well as statistics from national sources. The data presented correspond to the concepts from the fifth edition of the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5, 1993).
Annual statistics on international trade in services are released twice a year (by mid-April and mid-July).
Contact:
UNCTAD: statistics@unctad.org
WTO: statistics@wto.org
