International tourism, number of arrivals in Palau
Palau: International tourism, number of arrivals was 18,400 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of arrivals in Palau, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Palau recorded 18,400 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 80.4% on the previous year and down 78.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Palau peaked at 162,000 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 18,400, in 2020.
That places Palau 193rd 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 Palau, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 53,000 | — |
| 1996 | 69,000 | +30.2% |
| 1997 | 74,000 | +7.2% |
| 1998 | 64,000 | -13.5% |
| 1999 | 55,000 | -14.1% |
| 2000 | 58,000 | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 54,000 | -6.9% |
| 2002 | 59,000 | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 63,000 | +6.8% |
| 2004 | 89,000 | +41.3% |
| 2005 | 81,000 | -9.0% |
| 2006 | 82,000 | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 88,000 | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 81,000 | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 71,000 | -12.3% |
| 2010 | 85,000 | +19.7% |
| 2011 | 111,000 | +30.6% |
| 2012 | 120,000 | +8.1% |
| 2013 | 108,000 | -10.0% |
| 2014 | 140,000 | +29.6% |
| 2015 | 162,000 | +15.7% |
| 2016 | 138,000 | -14.8% |
| 2017 | 123,000 | -10.9% |
| 2018 | 106,000 | -13.8% |
| 2019 | 94,000 | -11.3% |
| 2020 | 18,400 | -80.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 63,000 | 53,000 | 74,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 72,600 | 54,000 | 89,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 118,700 | 85,000 | 162,000 | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,400 | 18,400 | 18,400 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Palau
More private sector data for Palau
- Merchandise trade 47.8% (2025)
- Food imports 23.0% (2018)
- Manufactures imports 50.8% (2018)
- Merchandise imports 162.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 88.7% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 9.0% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 3.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 169.85 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0087 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Palau?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Palau was 18,400 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 Palau?
- The highest recorded value was 162,000 in 2015.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Palau?
- The lowest recorded value was 18,400 in 2020.
- How does Palau rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Palau ranks 193rd out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Palau?
- Over the last ten years it is down 78.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Palau 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.