International tourism, expenditures in South Asia
South Asia: International tourism, expenditures was 4.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in South Asia, 2000–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, expenditures in South Asia is 4.6%, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of up 13.0% on the previous year and up 37.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in South Asia peaked at 5.9% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 2012.
That places South Asia 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.1% | — |
| 2001 | 5.9% | +16.0% |
| 2002 | 5.6% | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 4.7% | -15.3% |
| 2004 | 4.5% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 4.0% | -12.0% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | -14.5% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | -22.1% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | +7.6% |
| 2014 | 3.3% | +18.3% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | +13.5% |
| 2016 | 4.2% | +10.4% |
| 2017 | 4.0% | -3.3% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | +13.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.6% | 3.4% | 5.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.6% | 4.6% | 8 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
More private sector data for South Asia
- Merchandise trade 30.0% (2025)
- Food imports 5.6% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 47.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 864.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.8% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 67.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 510.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 301.72 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1115 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.04 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in South Asia?
- International tourism, expenditures in South Asia was 4.6% 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 South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.9% in 2001.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 2012.
- How does South Asia rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- South Asia ranks 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Asia 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 — 17 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.