International tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia
Namibia: International tourism, number of arrivals was 187,100 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Namibia recorded 187,100 for international tourism, number of arrivals in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 88.7% on the previous year and down 83.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia peaked at 1.65 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 187,100, in 2020.
That places Namibia 159th out of 201 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 421,000 | — |
| 1996 | 560,000 | +33.0% |
| 1997 | 610,000 | +8.9% |
| 1998 | 681,000 | +11.6% |
| 1999 | 694,000 | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 759,000 | +9.4% |
| 2001 | 700,000 | -7.8% |
| 2002 | 799,000 | +14.1% |
| 2003 | 739,000 | -7.5% |
| 2004 | 986,000 | +33.4% |
| 2005 | 856,000 | -13.2% |
| 2006 | 961,000 | +12.3% |
| 2007 | 1.05 million | +9.1% |
| 2008 | 1.08 million | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 1.10 million | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 1.11 million | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 1.16 million | +4.4% |
| 2012 | 1.25 million | +7.1% |
| 2013 | 1.33 million | +6.6% |
| 2014 | 1.43 million | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 1.49 million | +4.1% |
| 2016 | 1.55 million | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 1.58 million | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 1.64 million | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 1.65 million | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 187,100 | -88.7% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 187,100 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 570,500, 33% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 187,100 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 345,300, 54% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia 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 | -88.7% | 1.65 million | 187,100 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 593,200 | 421,000 | 694,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 902,700 | 700,000 | 1.10 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.42 million | 1.11 million | 1.65 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 187,100 | 187,100 | 187,100 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More private sector data for Namibia
- Merchandise trade 102.4% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 8.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 2.44 billion current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 28.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 18.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.02 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 1.25 billion current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,271 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Namibia was 187,100 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.65 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 187,100 in 2020.
- How does Namibia rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Namibia ranks 159th out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 83.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia 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 — 26 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.