International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in France
France: International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) was 3.9% in 2020. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in France, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
France recorded 3.9% for international tourism, expenditures in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 40.8% on the previous year and down 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in France peaked at 8.7% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 2020.
That places France 80th out of 186 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in France, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6.2% | — |
| 1996 | 6.6% | +6.4% |
| 1999 | 8.7% | +31.2% |
| 2000 | 7.7% | -11.2% |
| 2001 | 7.7% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 7.7% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 7.8% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 6.7% | -13.6% |
| 2005 | 6.5% | -2.9% |
| 2006 | 6.0% | -8.3% |
| 2007 | 6.1% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 5.8% | -4.4% |
| 2009 | 6.5% | +11.5% |
| 2010 | 6.2% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 6.3% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 6.0% | -4.7% |
| 2013 | 6.0% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 6.5% | +8.6% |
| 2015 | 6.1% | -5.8% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 6.4% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 6.3% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 6.6% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | -40.8% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 3.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.7%, 1.1× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- France's 3.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.1%, 1.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in France 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -40.8% | 6.6% | 3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.2% | 6.2% | 8.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 6.8% | 5.8% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near France
More private sector data for France
- Merchandise trade 43.7% (2025)
- Food imports 11.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 74.0% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 786.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 378.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.4% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 78.5% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 683.10 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 428.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 9,940 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in France?
- International tourism, expenditures in France was 3.9% in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 1999.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 2020.
- How does France rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- France ranks 80th out of 186 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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 — 24 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.