International tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: International tourism, expenditures was 8.1% in 2019. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1995–2019
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 Sub-Saharan Africa is 8.1%, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of up 12.9% on the previous year and up 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 8.7% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2013.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 7.3% | — |
| 1996 | 7.4% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 8.1% | +10.6% |
| 1998 | 8.7% | +7.0% |
| 1999 | 7.2% | -17.2% |
| 2000 | 7.1% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 6.7% | -5.8% |
| 2002 | 6.5% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 7.5% | +15.2% |
| 2004 | 6.5% | -13.1% |
| 2005 | 5.8% | -11.4% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | +23.7% |
| 2007 | 7.5% | +4.6% |
| 2008 | 7.7% | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 6.8% | -10.8% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 6.3% | -9.6% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | -8.6% |
| 2013 | 5.5% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 6.4% | +16.1% |
| 2016 | 5.8% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | +15.7% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | +6.9% |
| 2019 | 8.1% | +12.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.7% | 7.2% | 8.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 6.9% | 5.8% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.4% | 5.5% | 8.1% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More private sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Merchandise trade 44.5% (2025)
- Food imports 12.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 56.8% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 501.15 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 14.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 19.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 486.80 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 368.33 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2201 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 11.24 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- International tourism, expenditures in Sub-Saharan Africa was 8.1% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 1998.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2013.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan 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 (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.