International trade in services
This chapter focuses on the international services trade. What did the Dutch services trade look like in 2023? Which types of services were imported or exported more, and which ones were imported or exported less? What were the most important countries of origin and destinations for Dutch trade in services? How important was the Netherlands to the services trade of other countries around the world? How did the Dutch market share in world trade develop? In this chapter, we answer these and other questions by analysing the composition and geographical dimension of Dutch service imports and exports.
4.1Key findings
Dutch services exports in 2023
- In 2023, the Netherlands exported services worth 290.8bn euros to foreign countries. This represents a 5.5% increase compared to 2022.
- Based on the National Accounts – which, for instance, exclude Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) – there was an increase in services exports of 4.8%. The export volume is estimated to have decreased by 1.3% compared to 2022, while export prices are estimated to have risen by 6.2%. This indicates that the growth in export value was entirely attributable to significantly higher export prices.
- With a share of 30.5%, business services were once again the largest category of services exported by the Netherlands by value in 2023. Business services include industrial services, maintenance and repair, construction services, insurance services, government services, and personal, cultural, and recreational services. Transport services and telecommunication, computer, and information services complete the top three.
- Compared to 2022, business services exports grew by the most in value (up by €7.6bn). The largest absolute drop was in exports of transport services; in 2023, the export value of this category of services was €3.1bn lower than in 2022. This drop occurred particularly in maritime freight and other transportation.
- Germany, the US, UK, Ireland and France were the main destinations for Dutch services exports in 2023. These five largest export partners accounted for 47.6% of the Dutch services export. The Germans, Americans, and British primarily purchased business services and transport services from us.
- The US was the most important destination for Dutch business services in 2023. For the export of telecommunication, computer, and information services, Ireland was the top destination. Germany was the largest recipient of Dutch transport services by value in 2023.
Dutch services imports in 2023
- In 2023, the total import of services increased by 4.8% compared to 2022, amounting to €273.3bn.
- Based on the National Accounts – which, among other aspects, exclude Special Purpose Entities – there was an increase in services imports of 8.2%. The import volume increased by much less than import prices, at 0.5% and 7.7%, respectively.
- Business services dominated imports in 2023 with a share of 34.9%, followed by transport services and charges for the use of intellectual property.
- Relative to 2022, business service imports grew the most in absolute terms, with an increase of €7.3bn. The biggest drop in absolute terms was seen in the import of transport services: in 2023, the import value of this service category was €2.8bn lower than the previous year, primarily due to a decline in sea freight transport.
- The US, UK, Germany, Ireland and France were the main sources of services imports into the Netherlands in 2023. These five largest import partners accounted for 57.5% of the Dutch services imports. Charges for the use of intellectual property dominated imports from the US. For imports from the UK, it was business services. Services imports from Germany consisted mainly of business services and transport services.
- The UK was the most important supplier of business services to the Netherlands in 2023, while Germany was the main supplier of transport services. In terms of value, US imports were dominant in charges for the use of intellectual property in 2023.
The Netherlands as an international service provider in 2022
- The figures from an international perspective are sourced from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The most recent figures are from 2022.
- 2022 was a record year for the international trade in services, with the highest value of services ever traded in global terms.
- In 2022, the Netherlands provided 3.8% of all globally exported services, making it the ninth-largest services exporter in the world. The US is the largest services supplier by far.
- In Belgium, the Netherlands was the largest provider of services. In 2022, 13.8% of Belgium’s service imports came from the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a prominent supplier of services related to freight transport as well as business services.
The Netherlands as an international service consumer in 2022
- In 2022, the Netherlands imported 4% of all globally imported services, making it the seventh-largest services importer in the world by value. The US, China and Germany are the largest importers of services in the world, although China’s importance has declined significantly in recent years.
- Belgium exports the most services to the Netherlands; 13.6% of Belgium’s total services exports are destined for the Netherlands. Romania and Lithuania also export a relatively large amount of services to the Netherlands, primarily due to the freight transport sector.
Outline
In this chapter, we consider both the composition and the geographical dimension of the Dutch trade in services. In sections 4.3 to 4.4, we do so from a Dutch perspective. Dutch service exports are discussed in more detail in section 4.3. What is the composition of Dutch exports? How important are other countries for Dutch service exports? Section 4.4 provides details on Dutch service imports. In sections 4.5 to 4.6, we reverse the roles and look at the Dutch trade in services from the perspective of our trading partners. Based on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2024), in these sections we zoom in on the importance of the Netherlands as a country of destination and origin of services for a number of important trading countries. The importance of the Netherlands for the global trade in services is also discussed. The relevant figures are obtained from the World Trade Organization (WTO, 2024).
4.2Key developments in the Dutch services trade
Goods are tangible and are often used as an input for all or part of the production process, or are available for consumers to buy in a supermarket or shop. Unlike goods, services are not tangible and are less visible. In principle, the international trade in goods consists of goods physically crossing borders, whereas the international trade in services involves financial cross-border flows (CBS, 2017).
The international trade in services relates to service transactions between two parties based in two different countries. Usually, those transactions are between firms, but in some cases – for example travel services or personal and cultural services – individuals are also involved. If a person in the Netherlands is paid for services provided to a person based abroad, this represents an export of Dutch services. Conversely, a Dutch service import is when a firm or person from the Netherlands pays for services provided by a company or person based abroad. By way of illustration, if an engineer flies to China on behalf of a Dutch construction firm to provide advice on construction activities, we would describe that as a Dutch export of engineering services to China. If a Dutch IT company requests the assistance of a call centre in India, we would describe that as a Dutch import of business services.
International trade in services ever more important globally
Although services may be less visible than goods, they play a crucial role in the global economy. Since the 1990s, the service sector has been the most important source of economic growth. Logistics, information technology and financial services are an essential part of modern economies, while business services, healthcare services and entertainment are among the fastest-growing sectors worldwide (WTO & World Bank, 2023). Services account for more than two-thirds of global gross domestic product (GDP), twice the combined share of agriculture and industry. And the service sector employs more people and creates more jobs than any other sector (Sauvé, 2023).
Additionally, more and more research suggests that growth of the service sector is an important impetus for countries’ development (Baldwin & Forslid, 2020; Nayyar et al., 2021). For instance, research by the World Bank (2014) shows that a 1% increase in GDP growth originating from the service sector is associated with a reduction in poverty by approximately 0.96%. By way of comparison, if the same GDP growth is generated by agriculture, poverty falls by 0.67%. Growth in production-related sectors has no significant impact on poverty reduction. As such, further liberalisation of the service sector has the potential to help countries reduce poverty, because there is also evidence of production-boosting effects generated by the services trade (Fu et al., 2023; Nayyar et al., 2021).
The importance of the service sector is also reflected in the growing trade in services. Driven by developments in information and communication technology (ICT), exports of commercial services nearly tripled worldwide between 2005 and 2022 – and exports of digitally delivered services were up nearly fourfold. The trade in goods also grew in this period, but less rapidly than the trade in services (WTO & World Bank, 2023). The increasing importance of the international trade in services also applies to the Netherlands. In 2022, the contribution of service exports to Dutch GDP was 13.6%. In 1995, only 7.1% of GDP had been attributable to services exports (CBS, 2016). To put these figures into perspective: in 2022, domestic goods exports accounted for 17.2% of Dutch GDP and re-exports for 4.3% (see also Chapter 6 of this publication for more information about Dutch export earnings).
Redesign of International Trade in Services statistics
Due to a redesign of the International Trade in Services statistics as of 2020, a revised methodology applies to the series for the international trade in services. Two separate collections of time series have therefore emerged: one original collection of series for the 2014–2020 period (CBS, 2022), and one new collection of series that start in 2020 (CBS, 2023), the year in which the redesign took place. In order to be able to chart developments over a longer time period, for this edition of Dutch Trade in Facts and Figures, new, long time series have been developed in which trends from the original series are linked to the values and developments from the ‘new’ series. This means that it is possible to chart developments since 2014 instead of from 2020. Ahead of the future revision of the time series for the international services trade, several specific changes – which are limited in impact – have also been implemented in some time series, based on new information about the Dutch services trade.
Growth in value of trade continues in 2023
In 2023, the Netherlands exported €290.8bn worth of services (see Figure 4.2.1). In the same year, our country imported €273.3bn in services from other countries. The value of services exports and imports grew by 5.5% and 4.8%, respectively, compared to a year before.
In early 2020, the world was confronted with COVID-19. Over the subsequent months, this led to the imposition of measures to slow the spread of the virus. The Netherlands, too, felt the effects of COVID-19 and the subsequent measures, which also had an impact on international trade. Dutch trade in services fell more sharply in 2020 than the trade in goods. Compared to the trade in goods, the trade in services was not only harder hit, it was also affected for a longer period (Poulissen et al., 2022 and CBS, 2021; 2022b). However, the pandemic was not the only cause. Previous research by CBS (Poulissen et al., 2022) showed that corporate restructurings – possibly driven by a changing fiscal climate in the Netherlands for multinationals – inhibited the growth of the international trade in services. 2020 was also the year that the UK left the EU, as we can read in the second chapter of this publication.
| Jaar | Exports | Imports |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 153.8 | 148.4 |
| 2015 | 172.1 | 191.6 |
| 2016 | 164.0 | 164.7 |
| 2017 | 179.1 | 183.9 |
| 2018 | 199.9 | 206.0 |
| 2019 | 217.7 | 218.9 |
| 2020 | 200.2 | 190.8 |
| 2021 | 221.8 | 210.9 |
| 2022 | 275.5 | 260.8 |
| 2023* | 290.8 | 273.3 |
| 1)Due to a method break, the figures are based on provisional recalculation until 2019. | ||
Prices of service trade grew more rapidly than volume
Besides the pandemic, corporate restructuring and Brexit, worldwide disruptions to production chains, shortages of microchips and higher energy costs – and the associated high levels of inflation – may also have had an impact on the international services trade.
An increase in trade value can be the result of an increased volume of services, higher prices for those services or a combination of the two. No detailed price indices are currently available at CBS that would allow the volume and price effects to be easily distinguished from one another within the International Trade in Services statistics. However, it is possible to provide an indication based on the data that are known for the composition of GDP, based on final expenditure, from the CBS National Accounts (CBS, 2024) (see figures 4.2.2 and 4.2.3). It should be noted that these data sources do not apply exactly the same principles with regard to the international services trade. For instance, special purpose entities are not included in the National Accounts.
The prices of goods exports have risen much more sharply than those of service exports; see Chapter 3 of this publication for trends in volume and price of the Dutch goods trade. For instance, the price of exported goods rose by 21% between 2021 and 2022, whereas the increase in the price of exported services was only 6.6%. The rise in export prices of goods is largely explained by the fact that the imported products that are used as input for the production of the exports themselves rose in price. The price rises for goods and services in the Netherlands in 2022 were primarily driven by price rises abroad (Groot et al., 2023).
The total export value of services rose by 5.5% between 2022 and 2023, to €290.8bn. Based on the concepts used in the National Accounts, the percentage was 4.8%. In 2023, export prices rose 6.2% year on year. The only year between 2015 and 2023 in which export prices rose more sharply was 2022. Figure 4.2.2 shows that export volume actually fell in 2023. This means that the growth in export value is entirely attributable to significantly higher export prices.
| Jaar | Volume | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 7.9 | 2.1 |
| 2019 | 3.9 | 2.0 |
| 2020 | -10.3 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| 2022* | 11.9 | 6.6 |
| 2023* | -1.3 | 6.2 |
The Netherlands spent a record amount on services imports in 2023. Import value was up by 4.8% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching €273.3bn. Based on the concepts used in the National Accounts – which do not include, for example, special purpose entities – the increase was actually 8.2%. The main reason for this increase was again significantly higher import prices (see Figure 4.2.3). Between 2022 and 2023, import volume rose by 0.5%, whereas prices increased by 7.7%. Due to imported inflation, the Netherlands earned less from trade in relative terms because the prices of the services we imported from abroad rose much more quickly than the prices of the services we exported (Groot et al., 2023).
| Jaar | Volume | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 6.7 | 2.1 |
| 2019 | -1.8 | 2.3 |
| 2020 | -10.8 | 1.4 |
| 2021 | -2.9 | 3.1 |
| 2022* | 10.5 | 7.8 |
| 2023* | 0.5 | 7.7 |
4.3Dutch service exports in detail
Figure 4.3.1 shows the composition of Dutch service exports. As in previous years, business services were the most important service type for Dutch exports in 2023. Of all services exported by the Netherlands, 30.5% were business services, followed by transport services – with a share of 19.9% – and telecommunications, computer and information services – with a share of 14.3%. The export value of transport services and fees for the use of intellectual property was lower in 2023 than in 2022.
| Jaar | Business services | Transport services | Telecommunications, computer and information services | Intellectual property | Travel services | Financial services | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023* | 88.6 | 57.9 | 41.4 | 38.7 | 19.3 | 17.5 | 27.4 |
| 2022 | 81.0 | 61.0 | 38.6 | 39.9 | 15.7 | 12.5 | 26.8 |
| 2019 | 68.2 | 43.6 | 31.4 | 31.1 | 17.6 | 8.8 | 17.2 |
| 2015 | 49.4 | 34.3 | 34.8 | 20.9 | 12.4 | 6.0 | 14.3 |
| 1)Due to a method break, the figures are based on a provisional recalculation until 2019. | |||||||
Growth in exports of business and financial services…
In business services and telecommunications, computer and information services, we see a higher value compared to a year before. In table 4.3.2, we look at the different types of services in more detail. We see growth especially in technical, trade-related and other services, professional and management consultancy services, and computer and information services. Companies in the Netherlands exported financial services worth €17.5bn in 2023, which was up by 40% since 2022. This substantial increase is mainly attributable to the indirectly observed services of financial institutions (see also table 4.3.2). These are the costs paid indirectly for banking services. For example, banks’ interest result.noot1 Consequently, the share of financial services in the Dutch export basket increased from 4.5% in 2022 to 6.0% in 2023.
... but a decline in exports of transport services
In 2023, exports of transport services were around €3.1bn less than in 2022. That reduction may be attributed to a lower export value of maritime freight transport and other transport, partly due to significant price fluctuations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When firms or individuals in the Netherlands supply transport services to foreign firms or consumers, these count as exports. The transaction with a foreign party is what matters and not the country in which the service is actually provided. The export of intellectual property was also smaller in 2023 compared to 2022. We observe a decrease of €1.2 bn, which is a decline of 3.1%.
Record value of inbound travel
Due to the measures to combat COVID-19, international travel fell back sharply in 2020: in 2020, foreign spending by Dutch travellers was 50.3% lower than in 2019. Inbound travel equals all expenditure by foreign travellers within the Netherlands, i.e. travel services exports. In 2023, inbound travel was higher than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, marking the first increase since that time. With a share of 6.6% of total export value, travel services were the fifth-biggest service type in 2023, as they were in 2022. In 2023, we observe a growth of 23% (+€3.6bn) compared to 2022. This increase is seen in both business and private travel.
| 2022 | 2023* | |
|---|---|---|
| bn euros | ||
| Business services | 81.0 | 88.6 |
| R&D services | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| Professional and management consulting services | 34.2 | 36.4 |
| Technical, trade-related and other services | 40.1 | 45.5 |
| Transport services | 61.0 | 57.9 |
| Maritime transport | 16.6 | 14.7 |
| Aviation | 17.7 | 17.9 |
| Other transport | 25.0 | 23.5 |
| Postal and courier services | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services | 38.6 | 41.4 |
| Telecommunications services | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| Computer services | 26.3 | 28.1 |
| Information services | 7.9 | 8.5 |
| Fees for the use of intellectual property | 39.9 | 38.7 |
| Franchises and similar rights | 17.0 | 12.5 |
| Fees for the use of R&D | . | . |
| Fees for the use of software | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| Fees for the use of audiovisual products | . | . |
| Travel | 15.7 | 19.3 |
| Business travel | 4.5 | 5.7 |
| Private travel | 11.2 | 13.7 |
| Financial services | 12.5 | 17.5 |
| Financial services (charged explicitly) | 11.3 | 12.0 |
| Indirect services from financial institutions | 1.2 | 5.5 |
Europe remains the most important destination for Dutch services
Figure 4.3.3 visually represents the shares of the different regions in export value in 2023. In 2023, 69.8% of all service exports from the Netherlands were destined for European countries, whereas only 15.0% were destined for North and South America and 12.4% for the Asian market. In 2015, the European export share was 59.7%: Europe has therefore become more important as a market for Dutch services. At the same time, the export share of North and South America fell by 8.0 percentage points between 2015 and 2023. This correlates with previous research by CBS which shows that there has been a reduction in services exports particularly to countries outside the EU (Poulissen et al., 2022). The Netherlands is not unique in this. OECD figures indicate that international trade is becoming increasingly regional – a shift that is in line with the current geopolitical trend to reduce dependence on other power blocs (The Economist, 2019).
The EU single or internal market facilitates free movement of goods, people, services and capital. It stimulates economic growth, trade and innovation (Barendregt & Wijffelaars, 2017; European Council, 2024). In 2006, the European Services Directive was introduced in order to make it easier for firms to offer their services in other EU countries (Van der Heijden et al., 2021). According to the European Commission, since 1993, the internal market has created 2.5 million new jobs in the EU, achieved a five-fold increase in trade between member states and generated more than €800bn in additional income (EU Monitor, 2023). Nevertheless, the trade in services is often still hampered by differences in national regulations (Barendregt & Wijffelaars, 2017; European Council, 2024). In a previous study (CBS, 2022c), we considered the barriers encountered by firms wishing to start exporting services or expand their service exports.
| Regio | 2023* |
|---|---|
| Europe | 69.8 |
| Americas | 15.0 |
| Asia | 12.4 |
| Africa | 1.2 |
| Other | 1.6 |
Germany, US and UK most important export partners
Figure 4.3.4 shows that Germany, the US and the UK have been our principal export partners for years. In 2023, over one-third of export value went to these three partners. In 2023, 26.8% of the export basket to Germany consisted of business services. Transport and travel services also accounted for a relatively large share. With a share of 45.5%, business services dominated exports to the US, followed by transport services and telecommunications, computer and information services. These three service types also played a big role in exports to the UK.
The relative importance of Germany increased in 2023: from 13.3% in 2022 to 14.0% in 2023. In 2023, the value of service exports to Germany totalled €40.6bn, an 11% increase compared to 2022. With growth of €4.0bn year on year, Germany was the biggest climber in absolute terms. That growth was primarily due to higher export value in business services, including technical and trade-related services, travel services and financial services to our eastern neighbours.
Ireland and France completed the top 5, with export shares of 7.0% and 6.1%, respectively. The value of Dutch exports to Ireland was 12.0% less in 2023 than in 2022. Following changes to fiscal rules, including the fiscal treatment of multinationals (NOS Nieuws, 2021; Poulissen et al., 2022; Taylor, 2020), we see a lower export value of fees for the use of intellectual property in particular.
| Exportpartner | 2023* | 2022 | 2019 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 40.6 | 36.6 | 28.9 | 20.0 |
| US | 31.0 | 30.0 | 22.3 | 19.4 |
| UK | 28.9 | 27.2 | 25.0 | 17.9 |
| Ireland | 20.3 | 23.1 | 12.8 | 7.7 |
| France | 17.7 | 15.8 | 11.8 | 8.1 |
| Switzerland | 17.6 | 18.8 | 10.9 | 11.0 |
| Belgium | 17.1 | 16.0 | 12.3 | 9.2 |
| Italiy | 8.1 | 7.5 | 6.2 | 3.4 |
| Spain | 7.2 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 2.7 |
| Sweden | 6.7 | 6.4 | 4.5 | 2.6 |
| Luxembourg | 5.0 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 1.8 |
| Poland | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
| Denmark | 4.4 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Taiwan | 4.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| 1)Due to a method break, the figures are based on a provisional recalculation until 2019. | ||||
Nearly half of total export value to the five main export partners
Figure 4.3.5 shows the shares of the top five export partners in the six most important service types in terms of value. In 2023, 47.6% of Dutch service exports went to the five main export partners. They were Germany, the US, the UK, Ireland and France. The share of the top five destinations was the largest in financial services, at 60.2% of the total export value of financial services. In 2023, the largest share of financial services in terms of value went to the UK. The share of the top five destinations was second highest in travel, at 57.5% of total inbound travel. With a share of 42.7%, Germany was the most important country for travel exports by some distance. Germany was also the most important market for exports of transport services in 2023, although the difference with the US in second place was smaller: 16.0% compared to 11.4%. The US was the most important destination for business services: 15.9% of business services exports went to that country. 14.3% of all exports of telecommunications, computer and information services went to Ireland in 2023. This represents the biggest share of that service type by value.
| Dienstensoort | Germany | US | UK | Ireland | France | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business services | 12.3 | 15.9 | 10.6 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 49.6 |
| Transport services | 16.0 | 11.4 | 11.2 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 52.9 |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services |
11.6 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 14.3 | 6.6 | 47.3 |
| Intellectual property | 6.9 | 4.7 | 9.0 | . | 5.5 | 73.9 |
| Travel services | 42.7 | 4.5 | 6.4 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 42.5 |
| Financial services | 13.2 | 8.3 | 16.7 | 11.3 | 10.7 | 39.8 |
| 1)The export value of intellectual property fees excludes Ireland, for reasons of confidentiality. | ||||||
4.4Dutch service imports in detail
Figure 4.4.1 shows the composition of Dutch imports of services. In 2023, the six largest service types accounted for 90.9% of total Dutch service imports. Business services headed the list, followed by transport services and fees for the use of intellectual property. In 2023, business services accounted for just under 35% of Dutch import value. For transport services and intellectual property fees, the respective figures were 17.6% and 14.1%. Imports of other services – industrial services, maintenance and repair services, construction services, insurance services, personal, cultural and recreational services, and public services – were only responsible for a small proportion of total Dutch service imports.
The import value of transport services and fees for the use of intellectual property was lower in 2023 than in 2022. The ‘other’ service types had a higher import value in 2023 than in 2022.
| Jaar | Business services | Transport services | Intellectual property | Telecommunication, computer and information services | Travel services | Financial services | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023* | 95.4 | 48.0 | 38.7 | 27.1 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 24.8 |
| 2022 | 88.1 | 50.8 | 40.8 | 26.4 | 17.9 | 14.9 | 22.0 |
| 2019 | 76.7 | 33.5 | 41.3 | 17.7 | 20.8 | 11.1 | 17.7 |
| 2015 | 48.8 | 20.4 | 39.1 | 44.9 | 18.0 | 9.0 | 11.5 |
| 1)Due to a change in methodology, the figures up to 2019 are based on a provisional retrospective calculation. | |||||||
A plus for business and financial services…
In categories including business services and financial services, we saw a higher value compared to a year before. In table 4.4.2, which shows a more detailed picture, we see growth especially in technical and trade-related services, professional and management consultancy services, and indirectly observed services of financial institutions. Imports of business services grew rapidly in 2023: €7.3bn more than in 2022. Firms in the Netherlands imported financial services worth €19.7bn in 2023, which was 32.1% more than in 2022. As was the case for exports, that rise was largely due to the increase in indirectly observed services of financial institutions. The share of financial services in the Dutch import basket grew from 5.7% in 2022 to 7.2% in 2023.
…and a minus for transport services and fees for the use of intellectual property
In 2023, imports of transport services were around €2.8bn less than in 2022. That reduction may be attributed to a lower import value of maritime freight transport. Transport services diminished in importance: their share in total import value fell from 19.5% in 2022 to 17.6% in 2023. Imports of intellectual property – fees for the use of intellectual property – were substantially lower in 2023 than in 2022. We observe a decrease of €2.bn1, or –5.2%, largely due to a reduction in imports of franchises and similar rights. The import share of this service type fell from 15.6% in 2022 to 14.1% a year later.
Outbound travel still lower than before pandemic
In 2023, the expenditure of Dutch travellers abroad were 5.3% lower than in 2019. Those expenditure fell drastically due to the COVID-19 measures in 2020 and 2021. Outbound travel is on the rise, but it had not yet reached its pre-pandemic level by 2023. Expenditure by Dutch travellers while abroad, also known as outbound travel, are regarded as imports of services. In 2019, 9.5% of total import value consisted of travel services. In 2020 and 2021, that share fell to 3.8%, after which it rose again in 2023 to 7.2%.
| 2022 | 2023* | |
|---|---|---|
| bn euros | ||
| Business services | 88.1 | 95.4 |
| R&D services | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| Professional and management consulting services | 51.2 | 55.8 |
| Technical and trade-related services | 29.4 | 31.9 |
| Transport services | 50.8 | 48.0 |
| Maritime transport | 12.8 | 9.9 |
| Aviation | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| Other transport | 29.8 | 30.1 |
| Postal and courier services | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Fees for the use of intellectual property | 40.8 | 38.7 |
| Franchises and similar rights | 16.2 | 12.7 |
| Fees for the use of R&D | . | . |
| Fees for the use of software | 9.0 | 10.1 |
| Fees for the use of audiovisual products | . | . |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services | 26.4 | 27.1 |
| Telecommunications services | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Computer services | 19.2 | 19.6 |
| Information services | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Travel | 17.9 | 19.7 |
| Business travel | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| Private travel | 16.2 | 17.3 |
| Financial services | 14.9 | 19.7 |
| Financial services (charged explicitly) | 12.0 | 13.1 |
| FISIM | 2.9 | 6.6 |
The Americas less significant as an import region than in 2015
The continent of Europe is the main source of Dutch service imports. In 2023, 68.0% of Dutch service imports came from European countries (see Figure 4.4.3). Besides Europe, the Americas region is also an important supplier of services to our country. In 2023, Dutch imports of services from countries in North and South America totalled €60.3bn, which is 2.6 times more than imports from Asia and 26 times more than imports from Africa. In 2015, the American import share was 37.8%. One year later, that share had already fallen to a level comparable to that of 2023. Nevertheless, this means that the US became less important as a supplier of Dutch services in the 2015–2023 period. Over the same period, the European import share increased by 14.1 percentage points.
| Regio | 2023* |
|---|---|
| Europe | 68.0 |
| Americas | 22.1 |
| Asia | 8.3 |
| Africa | 0.8 |
| Other | 0.8 |
Almost one-fifth of service imports sourced from the US
If we look at the individual countries, the US was the leading supplier of imports to the Netherlands in 2023 (see Figure 4.4.4). This has not changed since 2015. In 2023, import value was €50.2bn. In 2023, 41.7% of the import basket from the US consisted of fees for the use of intellectual property. Business services also accounted for a relatively large share. Total service imports from the US were around €1.3bn lower in 2023 than in 2022. That contraction is due to reduced imports of fees for the use of intellectual property from the US.
With a share of 31.6%, business services dominated imports from Germany, followed by transport and travel services. Germany and Ireland did increase their shares of services supplied. For the two countries together, we see an increase of €5.6bn compared to 2022, leaving Germany and Ireland with import shares of 11.8% and 8.3%, respectively, in 2023. In the case of Germany, that growth was primarily attributable to a higher import value for financial services. For Ireland, we see an increased import value in fees for the use of intellectual property between 2022 and 2023.
| Importpartner | 2023* | 2022 | 2019 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 50.2 | 51.6 | 41.0 | 32.5 |
| UK | 33.2 | 31.7 | 28.2 | 19.1 |
| Germany | 32.3 | 29.0 | 24.3 | 15.8 |
| Ireland | 22.6 | 20.4 | 14.5 | 10.1 |
| France | 18.8 | 18.2 | 11.2 | 6.9 |
| Belgium | 18.4 | 17.3 | 12.0 | 8.3 |
| Spain | 7.7 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 4.2 |
| Italy | 7.0 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 3.7 |
| Poland | 6.5 | 6.1 | 4.3 | 2.0 |
| India | 6.2 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Switzerland | 5.6 | 5.2 | 8.9 | 14.5 |
| Sweden | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| Luxembourg | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
| Canada | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.1 |
| Singapore | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
| 1)Due to a change in methodology, the figures up to 2019 are based on a provisional retrospective calculation. | ||||
More than half of payments for the use of intellectual property accrue to the US
Figure 4.4.5 shows the shares of the five main countries of origin for the six most important service types in terms of import value. In 2023, 57.5% of Dutch service imports came from our five main import partners – the US, the UK, Germany, Ireland and France. Imports of fees for the use of intellectual property, financial services, business services and telecommunications, computer and information services were concentrated on the five main import partners. In 2023, we imported over half of those service types from the US, the UK Germany, Ireland and France. The US was the primary recipient of payments for the use or distribution of intellectual property. Imports of transport and travel services were less concentrated on the five main import partners; the five most important import partners combined accounted for 40.8% and 39.0% of the import value of transport and travel services, respectively. The highest share of travel services came from Germany and Belgium. Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and Italy were the countries where Dutch travellers spent the most money in 2023.
| Dienstensoort | US | UK | Germany | Ireland | France | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business services | 14.4 | 16.0 | 10.7 | 8.4 | 7.2 | 43.3 |
| Transport services | 8.3 | 7.4 | 13.4 | 3.5 | 8.1 | 59.2 |
| Telecommunication, computer and information services |
15.0 | 15.7 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 45.0 |
| Intellectual property¹⁾ | 54.2 | 5.4 | 3.9 | . | 1.9 | 34.6 |
| Travel services | 4.6 | 5.7 | 18.3 | 0.6 | 9.8 | 61.0 |
| Financial services | 14.9 | 13.5 | 13.0 | 3.4 | 13.9 | 41.3 |
| 1)The import value for the use of intellectual property excludes Ireland due to confidentiality. | ||||||
4.5Importance of the Netherlands as a supplier of services for other countries
Up to this point, we have examined the trade in services from a Dutch perspective. In the next two sections, we analyse the trade in services from an international perspective. This section discusses the role that the Netherlands performs as a supplier of services in the global economy, and for individual countries. Section 4.6 makes the same analysis, but from the perspective of the Netherlands as a consumer of international services.
As mentioned previously in this chapter, services are rapidly gaining importance in the global economy. The trade in services is growing faster than the trade in goods. Demographic trends, technological innovations and high incomes point to a further increase in the services trade in the future. UK analyses assume that by 2035, 28% of trade will consist of services, compared to 21% in 2021 (UK Government, 2023). Some World Trade Organization scenarios even assume that the share of services in global trade will increase by 50% by 2040 (WTO, 2019).
It remains to be seen whether these scenarios will turn out to be accurate, but what is certain is that services are becoming ever more important in the global economy and trade – despite the fact that services are more difficult to trade than goods. For example, a notary based in Utrecht is not qualified to draw up wills in New York, and a dentist in London cannot perform fillings in Maastricht. As such, the trade in services is traditionally associated with higher costs than the trade in goods. This is largely due to more complex policy regimes and the so-called ‘proximity burden’; for services, there is generally a greater need for suppliers and consumers to be in each other’s vicinity compared to the goods trade (The Economist, 2019; WTO, 2019). Set against that are the enormous advances in information and communication technologies, such as the internet, which have provided a massive boost to the trade in services. These technological developments increase opportunities to supply services remotely.
Use of data sources for the international perspective
In order to place the Dutch services trade in an international perspective, including the importance of the Netherlands for the trade of individual trading partners, we are dependent on international data sources.
In the last edition of Dutch Trade in Facts and Figures, we used an enriched and harmonised dataset from the WTO-OECD – known as BaTIS – to analyse the Dutch services trade with different trading partners and types of services. At the time of writing this chapter, no new edition of that dataset is available. For this reason, in this instance we have used information from alternative sources – the ‘International trade in services’ dataset of the OECD (2024) and the ‘Commercial services exports by sector and partner’ dataset of the World Trade Organization (WTO, 2024). The most recent reporting year for both sources is 2022.
For the analysis of the global shares in the services trade, it is important that the data is as complete as possible in terms of reporting countries for the most recent years. Because a breakdown by service types or partner countries is not necessary in this case, we have opted to use the WTO data, which is composed of data from the IMF, Eurostat, OECD and national statistics institutes. This data source contains the most recent data on total exports and imports for the reporting countries. For bilateral trading relations, we have used the OECD dataset, which is the best populated dataset for the most important Dutch trading partners in 2022. A drawback is that not all countries are included: it is a selection of OECD countries.
These two sources also serve as the basis for the BaTIS dataset, but they have not been balanced or enriched. This means that there may be discrepancies between the import and export totals between individual countries, and at the total level, and that there may be gaps in the data. Because different datasets have had to be used for this edition, the figures may deviate from other editions of Dutch Trade in Facts and Figures.
More international services supplied worldwide in 2022 than ever before
Global services exports appear to have fully recovered from the coronavirus crisis. In 2022, countries around the world exported a record value of services, to the tune of US$7,094bn. That represents a rise of over 14% compared to 2021, and an increase of over 12% compared to 2019, the previous record year. In 2010 – the starting year for our analyses – the World Trade Organization reported global services exports worth US$3,986bn.
The Netherlands drops down list of biggest service suppliers despite stable role
Figure 4.5.1 shows that the Netherlands is among the most important service exporters in the world. In 2022, our country was in ninth place in terms of the volume of services exports, with a share of 3.8%. The importance of the Netherlands has remained reasonably stable; its share has fluctuated around 4% between 2010 and 2022. However, the Netherlands has dropped three places down the rankings since 2010, being overtaken by Ireland, India and Singapore.
Of all the countries in the top 10, the significance of three in particular has increased, with Ireland leading the way. Since 2010, this relatively small economy has seen its share of services exports increase by 2.7 percentage points to 5% – more than double. However, that share needs to be put into perspective, as it cannot be seen in isolation from Ireland’s attractive rate of corporation tax, which has made it a magnet for multinational tech and pharmaceuticals companies. Although those companies do earn a lot of money in Ireland – so boosting GDP – they generally channel the profits to their head offices or letterbox companies abroad (The Economist, 2023). India’s growth is largely attributable to its highly developed IT services sector, with a strong focus on software, financial and business support services. This contributed to the growth of the Indian digital industry being over double that of the overall national economy (Cremers et al., 2023; Gajbhiye et al., 2022). Singapore in turn has benefited from recent reforms to reduce trade barriers in the service sector (OECD, 2023).
| jaar | US | UK | China | Germany | Ireland | France | India | Singapore | Netherlands | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 14.6 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 3.4 |
| 2011 | 14.4 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.1 |
| 2012 | 14.9 | 7.7 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 2.3 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3 |
| 2013 | 14.7 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 2.8 |
| 2014 | 14.4 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 3 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.1 |
| 2015 | 15.3 | 7.6 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | 15.4 | 7.3 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 3 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | 15.1 | 7 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4 | 3.4 |
| 2018 | 14.2 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 3.7 | 5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3.2 |
| 2019 | 14.1 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
| 2020 | 13.9 | 7.6 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| 2021 | 12.9 | 7.3 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 2.7 |
| 2022 | 13.1 | 7 | 6 | 5.8 | 5 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.4 |
Large economies like the US, the UK and Japan have actually been losing ground as suppliers of services on the world stage since 2010. Nevertheless, the US and the UK remain the two main global suppliers of services, with a combined share of over 20%. Japan – the world’s third-largest economy – is just about in the top 10 of the world’s largest service suppliers.
Dutch services by far the most important for Belgium
Of all countries, Belgium is the most important consumer of Dutch services in relative terms. In 2022, some 13.8% of its total services imports came from the Netherlands. The Netherlands did not account for a greater share of total services imports for any other country in the OECD database with services imports of at least US$1bn. As such, the Netherlands was Belgium’s main supplier of services. The Netherlands is a prominent supplier of cargo transport for Belgium by road, rail and water. Our southern neighbours also make extensive use of our technical, trade-related and other business services, with other countries following at some distance behind.
We note that countries to which the Netherlands supplies a relatively large share of their services imports are not necessarily those which lie closest to the Netherlands geographically; Finland and Romania complete the top 3 (see Figure 4.5.2). Services related to maritime freight transport are the most important Dutch services consumed by Finland, whereas purchases of services and goods by seasonal workers and other temporary workers explain the relatively high share of Dutch services in Romanian imports.
Ireland is a noticeable climber on this list. Ireland is one of the biggest exporters of computer services, with a global share of 27% in 2021. And the demand for computer services has grown significantly in recent years. Global exports of computer services were 45% higher in 2022 than before COVID-19: the pandemic boosted that growth due to the increase in homeworking, online learning and entertainment. The demand for software, cloud services, machine learning and improved cybersecurity also continues to grow worldwide (WTO, 2023). As such, the Netherlands is also making increasing use of Irish computer services.
| land | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 13.8 | 13.9 |
| Finland | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| Romania | 6.6 | 6.0 |
| Ireland | 6.4 | 4.5 |
| Poland | 5.6 | 6.1 |
| Sweden | 5.6 | 5.6 |
| France | 5.6 | 5.4 |
| Germany | 4.9 | 5.0 |
| Czechia | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Italy | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| Source: OESO (2024) | ||
| 1) Countries receiving at least 1 billion US dollar in services exports from the Netherlands in 2022 | ||
If we look at the countries that purchase less than $1bn worth of Dutch services, Iceland in particular stands out. In 2022, Dutch services made up 9.4% of Iceland’s total services imports. A year before, the figure had been 11.1%. As with Finland, these are primarily services related to maritime freight transport and support services, which explain this relatively large share of the Netherlands in Icelandic services imports.
4.6Importance of the Netherlands as a buyer of services for other countries
For 2022, the World Trade Organization reported worldwide imports of services worth US$6,554bn. The alert reader will notice that this figure deviates from the value of exports reported previously, when logically they should be the same. After all, one country’s imports are another country’s exports. However, the World Trade Organization’s data has not been harmonised, and trade flows are not known for all countries, resulting in discrepancies. For more information, see also the text box in section 4.5. Nevertheless, as we saw for exports, more international services were purchased in 2022 than ever before: an increase of nearly 15% compared to a year before.
Worldwide, six countries consume more foreign services than the Netherlands
The Dutch share of global services imports was 4% in 2022. That is 0.4 percentage points lower than in the preceding four years. If we consider the past two decades, we observe an increasing role for our country in global services imports. In 2022, the Netherlands occupied seventh place worldwide in terms of the level of services imports.
The main buyers of foreign services are the US, China and Germany (see Figure 4.6.1). Together, these three countries are the destination for nearly a quarter of all international services worldwide. Whereas both the US and Germany obtained more services from abroad in 2022 – compared to 2019 – China did not. To what extent this is linked to the after-effects of the pandemic and/or represents strategic choices is not entirely clear. In 2019, China already imported fewer services than a year before. In any event, this does mark a reduction in China’s importance as a destination for services globally, although it did just about retain second place on that list in 2022.
| land | US | China | Germany | Ireland | UK | France | Netherlands | Singapore | India | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 11.2 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 2.8 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3 | 4.2 |
| 2011 | 10.6 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 |
| 2012 | 10.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 2.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| 2013 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| 2014 | 9.5 | 8.4 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.7 |
| 2015 | 10.1 | 8.9 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | 10.4 | 9.1 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.8 |
| 2017 | 10.4 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 6.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 2019 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
| 2020 | 9.4 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
| 2021 | 9.8 | 7.5 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 2022 | 10.6 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
The Netherlands the largest market for Belgian services
Of all the countries in the OECD database, the highest proportion of Belgian services go to the Netherlands; our country is the destination for 13.6% of total Belgian services exports. Overall, this left the Netherlands as Belgium’s second-biggest export partner in 2022. In 2021, the share had been 14.7%. Services related to other transport, explicitly charged financial services and other business services play a primary role in this export flow.
Not only is Romania a relatively large buyer of Dutch services – as we saw in section 4.5 – the Netherlands is also an important destination for Romanian services, in particular due to the freight transport industry. The same applies to Lithuania. For large European economies, the importance of the Netherlands as a destination is slightly less, but those countries are still in the top 10 countries with the largest Dutch share of their exports. The Netherlands is the sixth-largest destination for service exports for France, Spain and Germany; for the UK, our country is the fifth-largest export destination.
| land | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 13.6 | 14.7 |
| Romania | 7.1 | 7.6 |
| Lithuania | 6.8 | 6.1 |
| Poland | 6.7 | 7.1 |
| France | 5.7 | 5.9 |
| Spain | 5.6 | 5.9 |
| Germany | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| UK | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Austria | 4.3 | 3.7 |
| Italy | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| 1)Countries with service exports to the Netherlands worth at least US$ 1 billion in 2021. | ||
4.7References
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Noten
Banks receive a higher interest rate on loans they provide and pay a lower interest on savings balances than the so-called interbank rate, the interest rate which banks charge each other when they lend to one another. Exports of intellectual property were also lower in 2023 than in 2022, falling by €1.bn2, or –3.1%.