International tourism, expenditures in European Union
European Union: International tourism, expenditures was 5.2% in 2019. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in European Union, 1995–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
European Union recorded 5.2% for international tourism, expenditures in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in European Union peaked at 8.6% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2019.
European Union ranks 34th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in European Union, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6.7% | — |
| 1996 | 7.0% | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 6.8% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 6.8% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 8.6% | +26.4% |
| 2000 | 7.8% | -9.1% |
| 2001 | 7.7% | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 7.6% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 7.5% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 6.8% | -9.7% |
| 2005 | 6.8% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 6.1% | -9.9% |
| 2007 | 5.9% | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 6.7% | +12.6% |
| 2010 | 6.1% | -9.4% |
| 2012 | 5.4% | -11.4% |
| 2013 | 5.4% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 5.3% | -4.5% |
| 2016 | 5.3% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 5.4% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | -0.2% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, expenditures in European Union changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +26.4% | 6.8% | 8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.2% | 6.7% | 8.6% | 5 |
| 2000s | 7.0% | 5.9% | 7.8% | 9 |
| 2010s | 5.4% | 5.2% | 6.1% | 9 |
Countries ranked near European Union
- 31 Ukraine 7.5% compare
- 32 New Caledonia 7.5% compare
- 33 Curaçao 7.4% compare
- 34 Canada 7.3% compare
- 35 Sweden 7.1% compare
- 36 Tanzania, United Republic of 7.1% compare
- 37 Palestine, State of 7.0% compare
More private sector data for European Union
- Merchandise trade 70.9% (2025)
- Food imports 10.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 7.41 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 76.6% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 16,988 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3608 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.82 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in European Union?
- International tourism, expenditures in European Union was 5.2% in 2019, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 8.6% in 1999.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2019.
- How does European Union rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- European Union ranks 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union 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 (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.