International tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: International tourism, number of arrivals was 20.29 million in 2019. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia, 1995–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 20.29 million for international tourism, number of arrivals in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.5% on the previous year and up 52.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia peaked at 23.01 million in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.40 million, in 1995.
That places Saudi Arabia 13th out of 201 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
International tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4.40 million | — |
| 2004 | 11.08 million | +152.0% |
| 2005 | 10.42 million | -6.0% |
| 2006 | 10.96 million | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 13.48 million | +23.0% |
| 2008 | 17.72 million | +31.4% |
| 2009 | 13.32 million | -24.8% |
| 2010 | 13.03 million | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 15.78 million | +21.1% |
| 2012 | 19.85 million | +25.8% |
| 2013 | 19.93 million | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 23.01 million | +15.4% |
| 2015 | 21.83 million | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 20.89 million | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 18.61 million | -10.9% |
| 2018 | 17.57 million | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 20.29 million | +15.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.40 million | 4.40 million | 4.40 million | 1 |
| 2000s | 12.83 million | 10.42 million | 17.72 million | 6 |
| 2010s | 19.08 million | 13.03 million | 23.01 million | 10 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Saudi Arabia was 20.29 million in 2019, 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 23.01 million in 2014.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.40 million in 1995.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 13th out of 201 countries with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 17 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.