International trade in services by type of service
Data extracted in June 2024.
Planned article update: August 2025.
Highlights
The main components of EU exports of services in 2023 were other business services (23.4% of total services exports), telecoms, computer and information services (20.5%) and transport (17.7%).
In 2022, the United States was the EU’s main trading partner for transport services, receiving 18.2% of EU exports to non-EU countries and providing 14.5% of EU imports.
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(% of extra-EU total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Globalisation patterns in EU trade and investment is an online Eurostat publication presenting a summary of recent European Union (EU) statistics on economic aspects of globalisation, focusing on patterns of EU trade and investment.
This article examines developments for international trade in services by type of service. While some types of international services – like transport – have existed as long as there has been commercial activity, trade for many other services has developed relatively recently as a result of market liberalisation and the introduction of new information and communication technologies; these changes often eliminated a range of obstacles and provided new means for supplying services remotely. As a result, some services have experienced considerable structural changes, as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been replaced by much larger, international enterprises. Examples include the retail sector (for example, retailing of food and beverages or clothing), accommodation services (for example, hotel chains) or financial services (for example, retail banks or insurance companies), where it’s relatively common place to find increased levels of concentration as multinational enterprise groups expand their operations. Nevertheless, developing technologies have lowered costs in some markets for services and provided opportunities for new players to disrupt more established enterprises.
Part of the change in the structure and composition of international trade in services may be attributed to a similar pattern of development to that witnessed previously for manufacturing, insofar as a range of (business) services have been outsourced to countries with lower costs, for example, computer programming or call centers in India. By contrast, the delivery of high value, bespoke services, such as those provided by architects, lawyers or management consultants, has generally remained close to the point of delivery. Among other issues, this reflects continued barriers to entry in some professional services and the perceived need to develop and maintain face-to-face business contacts.
Full article
International trade in services – overall developments
In 2023, other business services accounted for the highest share of EU trade in services
In 2023, the highest values of EU international trade in services (see Table 1) – as measured by the sum of exports and imports to/from non-EU countries – were recorded for
- other business services (this diverse category includes, among others, services in the areas of research and development (R&D), professional and management consultancy, technical and trade-related services, architectural, engineering and scientific services, security and investigative services, real estate and other services to businesses)
- transport services
- telecoms, computer and information services
- charges for the use of intellectual property (for example, royalties and licences)
- travel services
- financial services.
The EU exported other business services to the value of €314 billion in 2023, which was almost one quarter (23.4%) of all its services exports. The next highest shares of EU services exports were recorded for telecoms, computer and information services (20.5% of all service exports; €275 billion) and transport services (17.7%; €237 billion); apart from travel services (€177 billion), each of the remaining services that are shown in Table 1 accounted for less than €100 billion of exports in 2023.
The structure of EU imports was slightly more concentrated: in 2023, other business services accounted for almost one third (31.0%: €365 billion) of the EU’s total imports of services, followed by transport services (18.0%; €212 billion) and charges for use of intellectual property (17.1%; €201 billion); apart from travel (10.2%; €120 billion) and telecoms, computer and information services (9.0%; €105 billion), each of the remaining services that are shown in Table 1 accounted for less than €100 billion of imports in 2023.
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(€ billion)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Between 2013 and 2023, the fastest growing share of the EU’s export of services was accounted for by telecoms, computer and information services, and charges for the use of intellectual property
The share of telecoms, computer and information services in the total value of EU service exports to non-EU countries rose by 7.2 percentage points (pp) between 2013 and 2023. The next largest increase (2.3 pp) was recorded for charges in relation to the use of intellectual property, followed by maintenance and repair services (0.7 pp), insurance and pension services (0.4 pp) and personal, cultural and recreational services (0.3 pp).
By contrast, the relative importance of transport services within extra-EU exports fell 3.6 pp during the same period while the shares of travel services and financial services fell 3.4 and 1.7 pp, respectively. It should be noted that transport and travel services were severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and generally recovered more slowly than most other services. In absolute values – in current prices – government goods and services was the only service category to record a lower level of exports in 2023 than in 2013.
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(% of services total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
A similar analysis relating to changes in the structure of extra-EU services imports (see Figure 2) reveals that a growing proportion of the EU’s imports were composed of charges for the use of intellectual property: their share of the EU total increased 9.4 pp between 2013 and 2023, while there was also a relatively fast increase in the share of other business services (up 1.6 pp). By contrast, as for exports, the relative contribution of travel and transport services declined, falling 5.0 and 2.9 pp, respectively.
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(% of services total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
In 2023, the EU had a trade surplus for all but 2 of the 13 service categories
The EU recorded a trade surplus in 2023 for 11 of the 13 service categories detailed in Table 2. The 2 services where there were deficits were charges for the use of intellectual property (€103.8 billion) and other business services (€50.9 billion). The EU’s largest trade surplus was for telecoms, computer and information services (€169.9 billion), followed by travel services (€57.3 billion) and transport services (€25.0 billion).
The cover ratio provides an alternative measure for analysing the relative difference between exports and imports; it’s calculated as the value of exports divided by the value of imports and expressed as a percentage. In 2023, the value of EU exports of telecoms, computer and information services was 2.6 times as high as the value of EU imports of the same services (a cover ratio of 261.3%). The deficits recorded for 2 services' category were reflected in cover ratios below 100%. The cover ratio for services not allocated (a residual category with a relatively low level of trade) was unusual in that it was negative, due to a negative value for imports.
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
International trade in services – focus on selected service categories
International trade in services flows show the transactions between residents and non-residents of an economy. These flows are grouped in 12 main service categories according to the extended balance of payments services classification (EBOPS 2010) as well as a residual category of services not allocated.
The next section looks in more detail at developments for international trade in services with respect to the first 3 out of the 5 largest service categories, namely
- transport services
- travel services
- other business services.
Transport services
In the EU for 2023, transport services was the 3rd largest category for exports and the 2nd largest for imports (see Figures 1 and 2), accounting for 17.7% of services exports and 18.0% of services imports.
Transport (as defined by the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual – Sixth Edition (BPM6), paragraph 10.74) is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Transport can be classified according to: (a) mode of transport, namely, sea, air, or other ('other' may be further broken down into rail, road, internal waterway, pipeline, and space transport as well as electricity transmission); and (b) what is carried – passengers or freight.
Figure 3 shows developments for EU international trade in transport services from 2013 to 2023. EU exports of transport services to non-EU countries exceeded the value of imports every year during this period, resulting in a persistent trade surplus. For the period from 2013 to 2021, this surplus was within the range of €24.7 billion to €44.9 billion. In 2022, it increased to €70.9 billion before dropping back to €25.0 billion in 2023. EU exports and imports of transport services developed in a broadly similar manner in most year: relative stability was observed in the period 2013 to 2015, followed by a slight decrease in 2016 and then relatively rapid growth for 3 consecutive years. Almost all of these gains were lost in 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis led to a rapid fall in the level of trade. Note that the rebound in 2021 was greater than the decrease in 2020 and even stronger growth was recorded in 2022. As such, exports and imports in 2022 were at higher levels than in any of the earlier years. Falls for exports and imports in 2023 brought the values back between the 2021 and 2022 levels. In most years during the period under consideration, the share of transport services within total trade for all services was higher for exports than for imports, with exception for 2023.
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Figure 4 shows the relative importance of the different categories of transport services as regards their contribution to EU exports and imports in the total for transport services in 2022; note the use of an earlier reference year for these more detailed statistics. The largest subcategory was sea transport, which accounted for 60.3% for exports and 50.7% for imports of the EU’s trade in transport services. The only other subcategories to record double-digit shares in 2022 were
- air transport, with 21.1% of exports and 23.2% of imports
- road transport, with 7.5% of exports and 10.8% of imports.
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(% share of total for transport services)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
In 2022, the United States was the EU’s main trading partner for transport services, accounting for 18.2% of the EU’s exports to non-EU countries and for 14.5% of its imports (see Figure 5). On the second position followed the United Kingdom for exports (12.8%) and for imports (10.6%), with offshore financial centres (excluding Hong Kong and Singapore)just behind for imports (10.5%).
(% of extra-EU total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Travel services
Within the balance of payments, the travel services category registers ‘visitor’ expenditure (taking account of persons who stay for less than 1 year and excluding, for example, expenditures related to cross-border commuters, seasonal workers and students); note also that the figures exclude any expenditure related to transport services. Exports of travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away that are acquired from an economy by non-residents during visits to that economy. Imports of travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. For example, when tourists from China visit the EU the expenditure they make during their trip contributes towards the EU’s exports of travel services, whereas residents of the EU countries who visit China contribute towards the value of EU imports of travel services through their purchases there.
When measured by the fall in the value of trade, travel was the service category most impacted in 2020 by the COVID-19 crisis, both in relative (percentage) terms and in absolute (€) terms. Unlike most other services (where there was a sizeable rebound in 2021), travel services had a modest increase in the value of exports and imports. Growth in 2022 was considerably stronger and was sustained into 2023 such that the levels of exports and imports in 2023 were above their pre-pandemic levels (in 2019). The EU exported travel services to non-EU countries valued at €177 billion in 2023, while imports stood at €120 billion.
An alternative analysis, based on the share of travel services within the total value of the EU’s extra-EU trade in services shows the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on this category of services: travel’s share of services exports fell from 15.3% in 2019 to 5.9% in 2020 and 2021, while its share of services imports fell from 11.2% to 4.7% in 2020 and 4.9% in 2021. Together, the recovery in 2022 and 2023 brought these shares to 13.2% for exports and 10.2% for imports in 2023, still somewhat below the shares before the pandemic.
The EU recorded a trade surplus for travel services during every year from 2013 to 2023 – in other words, the expenditure of people from the EU visiting the rest of the world was lower than the expenditure of people from non-EU countries visiting the EU (see Figure 6). The largest trade surpluses were recorded in the two most recent years, at €55.2 billion in 2022 and €57.3 billion in 2023, exceeding the 2019 level of €49.7 billion. Between these years, the trade surplus had fallen to €11.3 billion and €18.1 billion in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the lowest recorded levels for the observed period.
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
When considering the principal extra-EU trade partners for travel services, it’s important to note that many international borders were closed in 2020 and/or 2021 as part of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This led to most international passenger travel services being restricted for several months. Even after travel restrictions were relaxed, many individuals were deterred from travelling due to the additional expenditures linked to issuing travelling certificates, risk of infection and/or the risk of travel restrictions being (re)introduced. Given their close geographic proximity, it’s perhaps unsurprising to find that the United Kingdom and Switzerland were among the EU’s main trading partners for travel services in 2022, joined by the United States.
- The United Kingdom accounted for more than a quarter (27.0%) of extra-EU exports of travel services, while these shares were 17.0% for the United States and 11.1% for Switzerland.
- The United States was the largest partner for the EU’s imports of travel services in 2022, with a 15.6% share of the total. Four countries geographically close to the EU followed, with a 12.8% share for the United Kingdom, 8.8% for Switzerland, 8.0% for Türkiye and 3.8% for Norway.
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(% of extra-EU total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
The relative importance of travel services as part of total trade in services was generally quite high in a number of EU countries traditionally associated with tourism. For example, in 2023 travel services accounted for 65.4% of all services exported by Croatia and between a third and a half of the total in Portugal (48.6%), Spain (46.5%), Greece (41.9%) and Italy (37.7%). By contrast, travel accounted for less than 10.0% of all services exported by 10 EU countries, with the lowest shares in Belgium (5.2%), Luxembourg (4.2%) and Ireland (1.9%).
Other business services
As noted above, the category covering ‘other business services’ includes a diverse range of services, such as R&D, legal services, accountancy and management consultancy, and real estate services. Figure 8 shows the development of international trade for the other business services, with the EU recording a trade deficit throughout the period from 2013 to 2023, except in 2014 (when there was a small surplus of €1 billion); the largest deficit was recorded in 2019 (€128 billion).
The value of exports and imports of other business services increased at a relatively steady pace between 2013 and 2019 (with notably faster growth for imports towards the end of this period). In 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis led to exports falling 3.4% and imports falling 4.2%; note these rates are based on data in current price terms. This pattern changed in 2021, with a 16.7% fall for imports, whereas there was a rebound for exports (up 5.0%). As a result, the EU’s trade deficit for other business services narrowed to €45 billion in 2021. The EU recorded substantial growth for exports and for imports in 2022, up 16.9% and 15.4%, respectively, followed by relative stability in 2023 (increases of 0.2% for exports and 1.0% for imports). The deficit increased slightly in both of these years to reach €51 billion in 2023, less than half the level it had been in 2019 and 2020.
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Figure 9 shows the relative importance of the different business services as regards their contribution to EU exports and imports in 2022. The largest subcategory for exports was legal, accounting and management consulting services, which accounted for more than one quarter (28.8%) of the EU’s other business services exports. The same subcategory also recorded the highest share for imports, accounting for almost one third (32.3%) of the EU’s imports of other business services. For exports and for imports, the second largest subcategory was R&D work undertaken on a systematic basis to increase the stock of knowledge.
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(% share of total for other business services)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
In 2022, the United States was the EU’s main trade partner for exports of other business services as well as for imports of these services. It accounted for 24.9% of extra-EU exports and 35.1% of extra-EU imports of other business services. The United Kingdom also recorded relatively high shares for both indicators, with a 19.9% share of the EU’s extra-EU exports and a 22.6% share of imports.
Between 2012 and 2022, several substantial developments can be noted
- the United States’ shares of the EU’s extra-EU exports and imports increased substantially, up 4.9 and 6.6 pp, respectively
- the United Kingdom’s share of the EU’s extra-EU exports increased, up 1.2 pp, while its share of imports decreased (down 2.4 pp)
- Switzerland’s share of the EU’s extra-EU exports and imports decreased, down 6.0 and 2.6 pp, respectively.
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(% of extra-EU total)
Source: Eurostat (bop_its6_det)
Services trade by enterprise characteristics (STEC)
Services trade by enterprise characteristics (STEC) statistics provide information on the types of enterprises engaged in international trade in services and show how enterprises in different industries supply services and how this relates to their primary activity. STEC statistics show a link between the volume of the traded services and the characteristics of the enterprises involved in that trade. The trade in services statistics and data from the national statistical business register are the main sources used for linking microdata.
The data are broken down by trader population according to the:
- size of the enterprise: small, medium, or large
- type of ownership: domestic or foreign-controlled
- category of main economic activity
- type of service.
The development of STEC statistics represents a notable step towards integrating statistics on international trade in services into business statistics. Regular data reporting for the EU and EFTA countries has been included as part of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics; the 1st reference period for this data collection is 2022.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Tables in this article use the following notation:
| Value in italics | data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change. |
Direct access to
Metadata
- Balance of payments – international transactions (BPM6) (ESMS metadata file – bop_6_esms)
Further methodological information