The World’s Top Services Exporters

The United States and the United Kingdom remain by far the world's top exporters of commercial services, together accounting for about one-fifth of the global total. As shown by data from the World Trade Organization, the trade in services was still highly concentrated in 2024: The top 10 exporters and importers of commercial services accounted for 56 percent of the international total.

Compared to a decade ago, the lineup of the top 10 exporters remains unchanged, though the rankings shifted. While the dominance of the U.S. has somewhat eroded over the past ten years, from 14.1 percent of global service exports in 2014 to 12.8 percent in 2024, the UK saw its share remain broadly stable: from 7.5 percent to 7.4 percent. Conversely, Ireland, India and China have made notable gains over the past decade, with their respective shares gaining 2.9, 1.3 and 0.9 percentage points. Ireland climbed to third place in 2024, with nearly 6 percent of the exports total, reflecting its growing role as a hub for international services. China ranked fifth in 2024, just behind Germany, both with a little over 5 percent of total services' exports.