South Africa - Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports)

The value for Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) in South Africa was 50.56 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 50.56 in 2020 and a minimum value of 10.86 in 1960.

Definition: Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) include such activities as international telecommunications, and postal and courier services; computer data; news-related service transactions between residents and nonresidents; construction services; royalties and license fees; miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services; and personal, cultural, and recreational services.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files.

See also:

Year Value
1960 10.86
1961 11.83
1962 16.04
1963 18.91
1964 17.91
1965 20.06
1966 24.48
1967 24.40
1968 25.44
1969 22.89
1970 19.93
1971 19.99
1972 22.00
1973 21.18
1974 14.94
1975 21.22
1976 21.01
1977 27.68
1978 30.71
1979 25.10
1980 23.98
1981 20.63
1982 21.82
1983 24.02
1984 22.18
1985 21.67
1986 19.65
1987 19.75
1988 17.36
1989 18.60
1990 16.59
1991 15.46
1992 13.99
1993 13.15
1994 12.30
1995 13.74
1996 16.32
1997 14.73
1998 15.49
1999 13.95
2000 13.58
2001 16.35
2002 17.96
2003 17.56
2004 19.42
2005 21.04
2006 22.14
2007 22.92
2008 23.51
2009 29.75
2010 30.11
2011 29.93
2012 30.65
2013 33.49
2014 32.98
2015 35.28
2016 39.87
2017 38.47
2018 36.15
2019 38.03
2020 50.56

Development Relevance: Trade in services differs from trade in goods because services are produced and consumed at the same time. Thus services to a traveler may be consumed in the producing country (for example, use of a hotel room) but are classified as imports of the traveler's country. In other cases services may be supplied from a remote location; for example, insurance services may be supplied from one location and consumed in another.

Limitations and Exceptions: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data. Eurostat and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, for example, are working together to improve the collection of statistics on trade in services in member countries. Still, difficulties in capturing all the dimensions of international trade in services mean that the record is likely to remain incomplete. Cross-border intrafirm service transactions, which are usually not captured in the balance of payments, have increased in recent years. An example is transnational corporations' use of mainframe computers around the clock for data processing, exploiting time zone differences between their home country and the host countries of their affiliates. Another important dimension of service trade not captured by conventional balance of payments statistics is establishment trade - sales in the host country by foreign affiliates. By contrast, cross-border intrafirm transactions in merchandise may be reported as exports or imports in the balance of payments.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The balance of payments (BoP) is a double-entry accounting system that shows all flows of goods and services into and out of an economy; all transfers that are the counterpart of real resources or financial claims provided to or by the rest of the world without a quid pro quo, such as donations and grants; and all changes in residents' claims on and liabilities to nonresidents that arise from economic transactions. All transactions are recorded twice - once as a credit and once as a debit. In principle the net balance should be zero, but in practice the accounts often do not balance, requiring inclusion of a balancing item, net errors and omissions. The concepts and definitions underlying the data are based on the sixth edition of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6). Balance of payments data for 2005 onward will be presented in accord with the BPM6. The historical BPM5 data series will end with data for 2008, which can be accessed through the World Development Indicators archives. The complete balance of payments methodology can be accessed through the International Monetary Fund website (www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/bop.htm).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Private Sector & Trade Indicators

Sub-Topic: Imports