Foreign trade in services, quarter 4 2023
Foreign trade in services slows down
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2024-03-04 8.00
The foreign trade in services continued to grow during the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period the year before. Growth figures are however notably lower compared to the elevated numbers observed since the onset of the pandemic recovery in 2021.
Slowdown in services trade, negative net trade
Trade in services continued to increase during the fourth quarter of 2023. Exports of services increased by 5 percent and imports of services by 6 percent compared to the same quarter the year before (based on nominal prices).
Sweden’s exports of services were valued at SEK 294 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, while the value of imports was SEK 324 billion. This resulted in a negative net trade of almost SEK 31 billion. The corresponding figure for the same quarter last year was a negative net trade of SEK 26 billion.
The trade in services is measured in nominal prices using Swedish krona (SEK). Adjustments for inflation or currency effects are therefore not made.
Sweden’s trade in services has demonstrated high growth figures since the second quarter of 2021. Initially, this was mainly driven by the recovery from the pandemic year of 2020, but in 2022 and 2023, price increases and the weakened Swedish krona have also contributed to this development. The growth figures measured for the last quarter of 2023 are notably lower which indicates a slowdown, but it also goes hand in hand with lower inflation levels.
More detailed country level statistics available
A new table is launched in the Statistical Database in connection with this publication. It contains data on the yearly services trade per country, distributed by type of service. Previously, only total services trade by country has been available. The more detailed statistics are available for Sweden’s 25 largest services trading partner countries by value, and aggregated for the EU, the internal market of the EU (EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and all non-EU countries.
Statistics Sweden makes this data available due to user demand. However, the quality of the service trade statistics broken down by country is generally not as high as the statistics without geographical breakdown and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
Some figures have been hidden in the tables. The main reason for this is confidentiality, but it may also be due to insufficient underlying data.
| Exports | Imports | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service item | Share in % | Change in % | Share in % | Change in % | |||||
| 2023Q4 | 2022Q4 | 2023Q4 | 2023Q4/2022Q4 | 2023Q4 | 2022Q4 | 2023Q4 | 2023Q4/2022Q4 | ||
| Total | 294 303 | 279 093 | 100.0 | 5.4 | 324 837 | 305 082 | 100.0 | 6.5 | |
| Manufacturing services | 3 885 | 5 837 | 1.3 | ‑33.4 | 10 054 | 9 384 | 3.1 | 7.1 | |
| Maintenance and repair services | 1 290 | 1 085 | 0.4 | 18.9 | 4 943 | 4 452 | 1.5 | 11.0 | |
| Transport | 34 772 | 34 518 | 11.8 | 0.7 | 39 692 | 41 118 | 12.2 | ‑3.5 | |
| Travel | 23 564 | 22 352 | 8.0 | 5.4 | 31 127 | 29 960 | 9.6 | 3.9 | |
| Construction | 3 821 | 3 081 | 1.3 | 24.0 | 4 723 | 4 853 | 1.5 | ‑2.7 | |
| Insurance and pension services | 2 379 | 2 195 | 0.8 | 8.4 | 2 077 | 2 063 | 0.6 | 0.7 | |
| Financial services | 14 766 | 12 783 | 5.0 | 15.5 | 6 280 | 7 530 | 1.9 | ‑16.6 | |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property | 31 823 | 29 088 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 47 152 | 43 392 | 14.5 | 8.7 | |
| Telecommunications, computer, and information services | 68 705 | 69 876 | 23.3 | ‑1.7 | 45 874 | 44 487 | 14.1 | 3.1 | |
| Other business services | 83 968 | 76 794 | 28.5 | 9.3 | 126 154 | 109 040 | 38.8 | 15.7 | |
| Personal, cultural, and recreational services | 22 529 | 19 835 | 7.7 | 13.6 | 6 041 | 8 081 | 1.9 | ‑25.2 | |
| Government goods and services | 2 800 | 1 650 | 1.0 | 69.7 | 719 | 721 | 0.2 | ‑0.3 | |
Revisions
Quarter 1-4 2022 and quarter 1-3 2023 have been revised in accordance with the regular revision schedule.
The foreign trade in services data are revised according to a revision schedule. In connection with the publication of quarter 1 to quarter 3, the previous quarter’s data are revised. In connection with the publication of quarter 4, the seven previous quarters are revised. If necessary, revisions can also be made outside the regular revision schedule. Revisions are primarily a result of late submissions or amended information from respondents but can also be due to changes in statistical models.
The data should be considered preliminary before being revised.
Definitions and explanations
What is foreign trade in services?
The statistics on foreign trade in services is a presentation of all Swedish transactions related to trade in services with the rest of the world. These statistics are reported quarterly and form the basis for both the National Accounts and the current account in Balance of Payments. The section More information contains an explanation on why trade in services in the National Accounts and the Balance of Payments sometimes differ from this statistic.
Next publishing will be
2024-06-03, 08:00.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.