Ethiopia Overtakes Tanzania to Become Top LDC Services Exporter: WTO-OECD Report

Ethiopia has emerged as the largest commercial services exporter among the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs), accounting for 17 percent of the group’s total services exports in 2024, according to a joint report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The milestone marks a dramatic ascent for Ethiopia, whose share more than doubled from seven percent in 2006. The country’s robust growth allowed it to overtake Tanzania, which saw its share shift from 12 percent to 15 percent, ranking second. Bangladesh followed at 11 percent, Cambodia at 10 percent, and Uganda at four percent, according to the report, titled ‘Two Decades of Trade and Development Partnerships: Trends and Impact of the Aid for Trade Initiative’. The publication was released to coincide with the opening of the WTO’s 2026 Global Review of Aid for Trade at its Geneva headquarters, marking two decades of international efforts to help developing economies break down barriers to global commerce. Opening the gathering, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged development partners to evaluate the future of trade-related assistance against a tightening financial landscape. “We need to ask ourselves how to do better for the poorer countries and what must change to make this initiative more impactful, “ she said. Despite Ethiopia’s stellar performance, the report highlights a broader structural imbalance in how LDCs participate in the global services economy. Collectively, LDCs accounted for just 0.54 percent of global commercial services exports in 2024, up only marginally from 0.42 percent in 2006. In contrast, their services imports reached USD 90 billion—growing at an average annual rate of 6.4 percent—leaving the group with a much heavier footprint on the buying side of trade than on the selling side. Overall, LDCs’ commercial services exports nearly quintupled between 2006 and 2024, rising from USD 9.5 billion to USD47 billion at an average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent. This expansion was heavily driven by transport, whose share of LDCs’ services exports nearly doubled from 18 percent to 35 percent. Travel remained the largest category at 41 percent (down from 45 percent), while other commercial services slipped from 34 percent to 20 percent. In merchandise trade, LDC economies tripled their exports to USD277 billion in 2024, up from USD95 billion in 2006, though their overall share of world merchandise trade hovered stagnant around one percent. Furthermore, commercial services gains have grown increasingly concentrated, with the top five LDC exporters accounting for 57 percent of the group’s total services exports in 2024, compared to 48 percent in two decades prior. The report also sheds light on the evolving landscape of Aid for Trade financing. Between 2006 and 2024, USD795 billion was disbursed globally to bolster trade infrastructure, institutional capacity, and productive sectors, with annual disbursements ticking up two percent to reach USD51 billion in 2024. However, the OECD warns that bilateral Aid for Trade disbursements could contract by roughly 22 percent between 2024 and 2026 if current sectoral allocations persist. Notably, Ethiopia was among five nations—alongside Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Ukraine—that together absorbed 60 percent of bilateral aid dedicated to trade policies and regulations in 2024. Highlighting tangible returns on such development assistance, the report points to a successful beekeeping project in Ethiopia implemented between 2018 and 2022. Backed by USD1.48 million from the Enhanced Integrated Framework and executed alongside the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology across eight districts, the initiative organized 3,610 young people into commercial enterprises, established eight processing centers, and funneled over 130 tonnes of processed honey into formal domestic and export markets. The project generated an estimated USD1.4 million in revenue while enhancing product quality and traceability.