International tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia
Zambia: International tourism, number of arrivals was 502,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia is 502,000, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 60.3% on the previous year and down 38.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia peaked at 1.27 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 163,000, in 1995.
That places Zambia 127th out of 201 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 163,000 | — |
| 1996 | 264,000 | +62.0% |
| 1997 | 341,000 | +29.2% |
| 1998 | 362,000 | +6.2% |
| 1999 | 404,000 | +11.6% |
| 2000 | 457,000 | +13.1% |
| 2001 | 492,000 | +7.7% |
| 2002 | 565,000 | +14.8% |
| 2003 | 413,000 | -26.9% |
| 2004 | 515,000 | +24.7% |
| 2005 | 669,000 | +29.9% |
| 2006 | 757,000 | +13.2% |
| 2007 | 897,000 | +18.5% |
| 2008 | 812,000 | -9.5% |
| 2009 | 710,000 | -12.6% |
| 2010 | 815,000 | +14.8% |
| 2011 | 920,000 | +12.9% |
| 2012 | 859,000 | -6.6% |
| 2013 | 915,000 | +6.5% |
| 2014 | 947,000 | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 932,000 | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 956,000 | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 1.01 million | +5.5% |
| 2018 | 1.07 million | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 1.27 million | +18.1% |
| 2020 | 502,000 | -60.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 306,800 | 163,000 | 404,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 628,700 | 413,000 | 897,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 969,100 | 815,000 | 1.27 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 502,000 | 502,000 | 502,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More private sector data for Zambia
- Merchandise trade 91.7% (2025)
- Food imports 7.8% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 64.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 13.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 8.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 14.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 13.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 607.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.461 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 18.07 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia?
- International tourism, number of arrivals in Zambia was 502,000 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.27 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of arrivals recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 163,000 in 1995.
- How does Zambia rank for international tourism, number of arrivals?
- Zambia ranks 127th out of 201 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of arrivals rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.