Global Service Imports in Current US Dollars

Worldwide data on imports of services, defined as services provided by non-residents to residents. The indicator is expressed in current US dollars, reflecting nominal values without adjustment for inflation. The dataset is compiled by the World Bank's World Development Indicators team.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in the 'service imports' value over time to assess a country's growing reliance on foreign services.
• Compare service import levels across countries using the standardized 'current US$' unit for cross-country economic analysis.
• Model the relationship between service imports and other economic indicators like GDP using the time-series structure of the data.
• Track the composition of a country's current account within the balance of payments framework using this service trade component.

Strengths

• Data is part of the World Development Indicators, a primary collection of development data.
• Values are standardized in 'current US$', enabling direct international comparison.

Limitations

• The 'current prices' methodology means values are not adjusted for inflation, complicating long-term real growth analysis.
• Specific row count, time range, and geographic coverage for this indicator are unknown.

Provenance

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators

Collection Method

Compiled from officially recognized international sources, primarily national accounts and balance of payments data reported by countries.

Geography

Global coverage, typically at country level.