☀ Key Stats
◆ Global services exports reached $2.43 trillion in Q1 2026, up 10.3% from a year earlier.
◆ The year-over-year increase was approximately $225.7 billion.
◆ Seasonally adjusted services exports fell 0.4% from the previous quarter, the first quarterly decline since Q1 2025.
◆ Services other than transport and travel accounted for approximately 72% of the year-over-year increase in global export value.
◆ Travel exports rose 11.8% from a year earlier to approximately $451.3 billion.
◆ Transport-services exports increased by a much slower 4.0% to approximately $378.5 billion.
◆ Europe recorded the strongest regional growth, with services exports rising 15.0% year over year to approximately $1.18 trillion.
◆ Latin America and the Caribbean followed with growth of 7.7%, while Northern America rose 5.1% and Asia increased 4.7%.
◆ Asian transport-services exports fell 5.1%, while travel exports from Northern America declined 1.1%.
◆ U.S. services exports reached approximately $301.9 billion, up 4.8% from a year earlier.
◆ UK services exports increased 14.9% to approximately $183.6 billion, while Germany recorded growth of 13.8%.
◆ China’s reported services exports fell 12.9% from a year earlier to approximately $101.4 billion.
◆ Global services imports reached approximately $2.24 trillion, up 9.6% from Q1 2025.
Note: Values are reported in current U.S. dollars. Changes can therefore reflect prices and exchange rates as well as changes in the underlying quantity of services traded.
Continue reading ↓
Global services exports reached $2.43 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to new quarterly data from UN Trade and Development.
That was 10.3% higher than a year earlier, equivalent to an increase of approximately $225.7 billion.
But the latest quarter also showed signs that momentum was cooling.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, global services exports fell 0.4% from the previous quarter.
It was the first quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2025, following increases of 6.8%, 3.3% and 1.6% during the final three quarters of last year.
Most of the growth came from services outside travel and transport
Services other than transport and travel generated approximately 72% of the increase in global export value between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026.
Their combined export value increased by roughly $162 billion over the period.
Travel remained one of the faster-growing major categories.
Global travel exports rose 11.8% from a year earlier to approximately $451.3 billion.
Transport services increased by just 4.0%, reaching approximately $378.5 billion.
Transport was the slowest-growing of the major services groups in each quarter from Q1 2025 through Q1 2026.
The difference shows that the expansion in services trade was not evenly distributed across categories.
Europe led global services export growth
Europe recorded the strongest growth among the major regions reported by UNCTAD.
Services exports from Europe increased 15.0% from a year earlier to approximately $1.18 trillion.
Travel exports from the region rose 18.5%, while services outside the transport and travel categories also recorded double-digit growth.
European transport-services exports increased 10.8%.
Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the second-fastest increase in total services exports, at 7.7%.
Northern America grew 5.1%, while Asia increased 4.7%.
UNCTAD does not present comparable regional figures for Africa and Oceania in its latest overview because of insufficient data coverage.
Transport weighed on growth in Asia
Asia’s relatively slower increase partly reflected weakness in transport.
The region’s transport-services exports fell 5.1% from a year earlier.
Travel moved in the opposite direction, rising 11.3%.
Other services increased 5.7%.
The result left overall Asian services exports at approximately $736.0 billion, up 4.7% from Q1 2025.
Travel exports declined in Northern America
Northern America also recorded a mixed quarter.
Total services exports increased 5.1% to approximately $347.1 billion.
But travel exports fell 1.1% from a year earlier to approximately $59.0 billion.
Transport exports rose 4.1%, while other services increased 6.6%.
The figures suggest that growth in the region depended more heavily on services outside international travel.
The U.S. remained the largest national exporter
The United States recorded approximately $301.9 billion in services exports during the quarter.
That was 4.8% higher than in Q1 2025.
Several large European exporters grew considerably faster.
UK services exports rose 14.9% to approximately $183.6 billion.
Ireland recorded growth of 17.9% to approximately $148.5 billion, while German exports increased 13.8% to $133.2 billion.
France rose 12.9% to approximately $107.1 billion.
India’s services exports increased 8.9% to around $111.1 billion, while Singapore recorded growth of 9.8% to approximately $112.1 billion.
China moved in the opposite direction.
Its reported services exports fell 12.9% from Q1 2025 to approximately $101.4 billion.
Japan recorded much slower growth of 1.8%, with exports of approximately $61.4 billion.
Global services imports also approached $2.24 trillion
The expansion was not limited to exports.
Global services imports reached approximately $2.24 trillion in Q1 2026.
That represented year-over-year growth of 9.6%.
Combined global services exports and imports therefore totaled approximately $4.66 trillion during the quarter.
That was close to 10% higher than one year earlier.
✦ Why it matters ✦
Services account for a large part of international economic activity that does not move through ports as physical goods.
The category includes activities ranging from tourism and transport to finance, insurance, telecommunications, computer services, intellectual property and business services.
The latest figures show that global services trade was still expanding rapidly compared with early 2025.
But the 0.4% quarterly decline suggests that the pace of expansion softened at the start of 2026.
The composition of that growth also matters.
Transport contributed relatively little to the annual increase, while travel and a broad range of other internationally traded services expanded more quickly.
Regional differences were also substantial.
Europe recorded growth roughly three times as fast as Asia or Northern America, while individual large exporters ranged from double-digit increases in several European economies to a double-digit decline in China.
Those differences mean that a strong global headline figure can mask very different conditions across sectors and economies.
The next quarterly release will show whether the early-2026 decline in seasonally adjusted exports was temporary or the start of a broader slowdown.
UNCTAD’s release calendar currently schedules the Q2 2026 update for October 30, 2026.
ⓘ How to read the findings
The dataset reports international trade in services under balance-of-payments definitions.
The figures in dollar terms are measured at current prices, rather than being adjusted for inflation.
That means changes in export values can result from changes in prices and exchange rates as well as changes in the quantity of services supplied across borders.
Year-over-year growth compares Q1 2026 with Q1 2025.
The quarter-to-quarter figures cited in the article use UNCTAD’s seasonally adjusted growth rates, which are intended to remove recurring seasonal patterns.
The regional figures do not cover every part of the world equally.
UNCTAD says Africa and Oceania are not displayed in its Q1 2026 regional overview because available data coverage is insufficient.
The category described here as services other than transport and travel is calculated from total services exports after excluding those two categories.
It includes a broad range of activities such as financial and insurance services, telecommunications and computer services, intellectual-property charges, business services and goods-related services.
Quarterly figures can also be revised as national authorities submit updated information.
The latest UNCTAD release extends the quarterly dataset through Q1 2026 and was published on July 24, 2026.
