Services are central to today’s economic growth, creating new opportunities for developing countries while also exposing widening gaps in digital access, skills and capacity.
Services such as software, logistics and data management now account for 65% of global GDP and more than a quarter of world trade.
Efficient logistics, reliable payments and strong after-sales services can make manufacturers more competitive in global markets.
“This is why the discussion about leapfrogging to services is a false dichotomy. Good services need good manufacturing,” said Acting Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno.
Mr Moreno was speaking at the opening of the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, with which UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has a decade-long partnership.
Where the gaps are widening
But the benefits of services trade are not shared equally.
In developed economies, 61% of services exports are delivered digitally, compared with just 16% in least developed countries (LDCs).
High-value business services – including research, management consulting and engineering – represent a $2 trillion global market. LDCs account for just 0.4% of it.
These gaps reflect differences in connectivity, skills, regulation and access to finance. Left unaddressed, they risk widening further, especially as artificial intelligence transforms how services are produced and delivered.
Better data can make a difference
Closing these gaps requires a better understanding of the role services play in economies.
Governments need reliable data to see how services contribute to productivity, jobs and exports. This can help them design policies that support growth and participation in global markets.
As Mr Moreno said: “We cannot design effective services strategies if we cannot see where services are contributing to productivity, to employment, to exports.”
A new study charts a path
During CIFTIS 2026, UNCTAD will release a new report on measuring servicification and the impacts of services trade and policy.
It points to a practical starting point: Countries do not always need to build new data systems from scratch. Much of the information they need may already exist.
What is often missing is the capacity to find, connect and use that information to shape policy.
The report was produced with funding support from China and will be officially launched on 11 September. Visit this dedicated page for the full report and its findings.
