International tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa
South Africa: International tourism, expenditures for travel items was 928.00 million current US$ in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 928.00 million current US$ for international tourism, expenditures for travel items in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 70.5% on the previous year and down 83.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa peaked at 5.59 billion current US$ in 2010 and was at its lowest, 928.00 million current US$, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 59th of 191 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.85 billion current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 1.75 billion current US$ | -5.1% |
| 1997 | 1.96 billion current US$ | +11.7% |
| 1998 | 1.91 billion current US$ | -2.7% |
| 1999 | 2.03 billion current US$ | +6.3% |
| 2000 | 2.08 billion current US$ | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 1.88 billion current US$ | -9.9% |
| 2002 | 1.81 billion current US$ | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 2.89 billion current US$ | +59.5% |
| 2004 | 3.16 billion current US$ | +9.3% |
| 2005 | 3.37 billion current US$ | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 3.38 billion current US$ | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 3.93 billion current US$ | +16.0% |
| 2008 | 4.40 billion current US$ | +12.1% |
| 2009 | 4.15 billion current US$ | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 5.59 billion current US$ | +34.8% |
| 2011 | 5.28 billion current US$ | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 4.07 billion current US$ | -23.0% |
| 2013 | 3.43 billion current US$ | -15.7% |
| 2014 | 3.17 billion current US$ | -7.6% |
| 2015 | 3.00 billion current US$ | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 2.86 billion current US$ | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 3.26 billion current US$ | +14.0% |
| 2018 | 3.40 billion current US$ | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 3.14 billion current US$ | -7.7% |
| 2020 | 928.00 million current US$ | -70.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.90 billion current US$ | 1.75 billion current US$ | 2.03 billion current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 3.11 billion current US$ | 1.81 billion current US$ | 4.40 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.72 billion current US$ | 2.86 billion current US$ | 5.59 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 928.00 million current US$ | 928.00 million current US$ | 928.00 million current US$ | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More private sector data for South Africa
- Merchandise trade 57.2% (2025)
- Food imports 7.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 62.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 128.08 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.8% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 38.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 116.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,798 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2725 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.74 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa?
- International tourism, expenditures for travel items in South Africa was 928.00 million current US$ in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures for travel items recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.59 billion current US$ in 2010.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures for travel items recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 928.00 million current US$ in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for international tourism, expenditures for travel items?
- South Africa ranks 59th out of 191 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures for travel items rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 83.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.