United States - Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)

The value for Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) in United States was 56.98 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 50 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 56.98 in 2020 and a minimum value of 28.27 in 1981.

Definition: Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) 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
1970 36.80
1971 38.02
1972 37.66
1973 35.87
1974 35.36
1975 37.33
1976 35.81
1977 36.18
1978 36.21
1979 31.10
1980 30.86
1981 28.27
1982 35.40
1983 35.99
1984 32.23
1985 32.16
1986 31.24
1987 30.65
1988 30.74
1989 31.48
1990 31.05
1991 32.54
1992 33.31
1993 33.16
1994 36.14
1995 35.90
1996 36.67
1997 37.54
1998 39.59
1999 39.03
2000 37.98
2001 40.80
2002 42.98
2003 43.49
2004 42.82
2005 43.02
2006 44.01
2007 44.69
2008 44.67
2009 47.20
2010 45.27
2011 45.30
2012 45.14
2013 44.60
2014 44.73
2015 45.53
2016 46.72
2017 47.19
2018 46.95
2019 47.89
2020 56.98

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: Exports