Ethiopia accounted for 17% of commercial services exports among the world's least-developed countries in 2024, overtaking Tanzania as transport, tourism and trade-related services drive its growing global market share.
ADDIS ABABA (Somali Report) – Ethiopia has overtaken Tanzania to become the world's largest exporter of commercial services among least-developed countries (LDCs), capturing 17 per cent of the group's total exports in 2024, according to a new report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report highlights Ethiopia's growing role in international services trade, with its share of exports more than doubling from seven per cent in 2006 to 17 per cent in 2024.
Tanzania, which previously held the leading position, ranked second with a 15 per cent share, followed by Bangladesh at 11 per cent, Cambodia at 10 per cent and Uganda at four per cent.
The findings are contained in a joint WTO-OECD publication titled Two Decades of Trade and Development Partnerships: Trends and Impact of the Aid for Trade Initiative.
Released during the WTO's 2026 Global Review of Aid for Trade in Geneva, the report examines how international trade assistance has influenced economic development and the participation of poorer countries in global markets over the past two decades.
Ethiopia's performance comes against a backdrop of limited participation by least-developed economies in international services trade.
Collectively, LDCs accounted for just 0.54 per cent of global commercial services exports in 2024, compared with 0.42 per cent in 2006, underscoring the relatively small role they continue to play in the global services economy.
Their commercial services exports nevertheless recorded substantial growth, increasing from $9.5 billion in 2006 to $47 billion in 2024, representing an average annual growth rate of 7.7 per cent.
Transport services were a major contributor to this expansion. Their share of total LDC services exports increased from 18 per cent to 35 per cent over the period.
Travel remained the largest category, accounting for 41 per cent of exports, although its share declined from 45 per cent in 2006. Other commercial services fell from 34 per cent to 20 per cent.
Despite the growth in exports, least-developed countries continue to import substantially more services than they sell internationally. Their services imports reached $90 billion in 2024, growing at an average annual rate of 6.4 per cent.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on development partners to reconsider how trade-related assistance can better support poorer economies amid tightening international financing conditions.
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She said the international community needed to examine how the Aid for Trade initiative could become more effective and deliver greater benefits to developing countries.
The report also highlights the concentration of export earnings among a relatively small number of economies. The five largest LDC services exporters accounted for 57 per cent of the group's total exports in 2024, compared with 48 per cent two decades earlier.
In merchandise trade, LDC exports increased nearly threefold, rising from $95 billion in 2006 to $277 billion in 2024. However, their share of global merchandise trade remained around one per cent.
The publication further examines the role of international development financing in strengthening trade infrastructure, institutions and productive sectors.
Between 2006 and 2024, approximately $795 billion was disbursed globally through Aid for Trade programmes. Annual funding reached $51 billion in 2024, representing a two per cent increase.
However, the OECD warned that bilateral Aid for Trade disbursements could decline by approximately 22 per cent between 2024 and 2026 if existing allocation patterns continue.
Ethiopia was among five countries, alongside Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Ukraine, that collectively received 60 per cent of bilateral assistance allocated to trade policies and regulations in 2024.
The report also highlighted the economic impact of targeted development projects in Ethiopia, including a beekeeping initiative implemented between 2018 and 2022.
Supported by $1.48 million from the Enhanced Integrated Framework and implemented in partnership with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, the project operated across eight districts.
It organised 3,610 young people into commercial enterprises, established eight honey-processing centres and helped channel more than 130 tonnes of processed honey into formal domestic and export markets.
The initiative generated an estimated $1.4 million in revenue while improving product quality and traceability.
Ethiopia's position as the leading LDC services exporter marks a significant shift in the group's trade landscape. However, the report suggests that sustaining this progress will depend on continued investment, stronger productive capacity and improved access to international markets.
About the Author
Fatuma Taxadar Yusuf is the Editor-in-Chief of Somali Report. She was the first woman to serve as an editor and media managing director in Somalia’s Puntland State. Previously, she worked with the BBC World Service and other leading media organizations in Somalia. She also serves as Deputy Chairperson of the Somalia Media Council, an independent body that regulates media standards and professional conduct in Somalia.
