How transport changed the mix of Africa’s service imports

Ethiopia’s share fell from its 2022 reading

Transport accounted for 77.60% of service imports in 2022, 74.78% in 2023 and 58.00% in 2024. It remained the highest 2024 share among the seven economies here. Source 1

Nigeria and Kenya were lower than their 2010 readings

Nigeria was at 39.87% in 2010 and 35.63% in 2024. Kenya moved from 44.75% to 32.69%. Morocco’s share rose from 35.98% to 41.07%. Source 1

A transport import is defined by residency

A resident buying a transport service from a nonresident can generate a service import. The measure covers carriage of people or goods and related services. Customs data about the goods moved use a different accounting boundary. Source 2

Other service imports change the denominator

The transport share can fall when other imported services grow faster, even if transport spending rises. Compare currency values by service category to see whether transport expenditure actually went up or down. Source 2

Sources

• IMF Balance of Payments Statistics via World Bank WDI
• Publisher metadata and indicator definition
• World Bank API, country and year records