International tourism, number of arrivals in Eswatini
Eswatini: International tourism, number of arrivals was 345,300 in 2020. ▼ Falling
International tourism, number of arrivals in Eswatini, 1996–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Eswatini recorded 345,300 for international tourism, number of arrivals in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 71.8% on the previous year and down 74.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Eswatini peaked at 1.64 million in 1997 and was at its lowest, 345,300, in 2020.
That places Eswatini 144th out of 201 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, number of arrivals in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1.34 million | — |
| 1997 | 1.64 million | +22.3% |
| 1998 | 986,000 | -39.7% |
| 1999 | 1.25 million | +27.1% |
| 2000 | 1.15 million | -8.1% |
| 2001 | 1.31 million | +14.0% |
| 2002 | 1.37 million | +4.5% |
| 2003 | 1.54 million | +12.5% |
| 2005 | 1.18 million | -23.4% |
| 2006 | 1.20 million | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 1.23 million | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 1.19 million | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 1.34 million | +13.3% |
| 2010 | 1.34 million | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 1.33 million | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 1.28 million | -3.8% |
| 2013 | 1.30 million | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 1.32 million | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 1.26 million | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 1.28 million | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 1.34 million | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 1.28 million | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 1.23 million | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 345,300 | -71.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.30 million | 986,000 | 1.64 million | 4 |
| 2000s | 1.28 million | 1.15 million | 1.54 million | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.30 million | 1.23 million | 1.34 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 345,300 | 345,300 | 345,300 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
- 141 Turks and Caicos Islands 370,400 compare
- 142 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 351,000 compare
- 142 Montenegro 351,000 compare
- 145 Benin 337,000 compare
- 146 Guam 328,000 compare
- 147 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 323,300 compare
More private sector data for Eswatini
- Merchandise trade 86.4% (2025)
- Food imports 19.6% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 58.1% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 2.09 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 29.7% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 59.8% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 2.37 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,887 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4592 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.85 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Eswatini?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Eswatini was 345,300 in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 1.64 million in 1997.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 345,300 in 2020.
- How does Eswatini rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Eswatini ranks 144th out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 74.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini 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, number of arrivals. 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 inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.