International tourism, number of departures in Belgium
Belgium: International tourism, number of departures was 5.85 million in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in Belgium, 1996–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, number of departures in Belgium stood at 5.85 million.
That represents a change of down 58.8% on the previous year and down 33.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Belgium peaked at 14.19 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 5.64 million, in 1996.
That places Belgium 29th out of 117 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 5.64 million | — |
| 1997 | 7.55 million | +33.7% |
| 1998 | 7.78 million | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 6.41 million | -17.6% |
| 2000 | 7.93 million | +23.7% |
| 2001 | 6.57 million | -17.2% |
| 2002 | 6.77 million | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 7.27 million | +7.3% |
| 2004 | 8.78 million | +20.8% |
| 2005 | 9.33 million | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 7.85 million | -15.8% |
| 2007 | 8.37 million | +6.6% |
| 2008 | 8.89 million | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 8.78 million | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 8.80 million | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 9.73 million | +10.5% |
| 2012 | 9.58 million | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 10.80 million | +12.8% |
| 2014 | 10.99 million | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 10.84 million | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 13.37 million | +23.4% |
| 2017 | 12.14 million | -9.2% |
| 2018 | 13.10 million | +7.9% |
| 2019 | 14.19 million | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 5.85 million | -58.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.84 million | 5.64 million | 7.78 million | 4 |
| 2000s | 8.05 million | 6.57 million | 9.33 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.35 million | 8.80 million | 14.19 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.85 million | 5.85 million | 5.85 million | 1 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 26 Syrian Arab Republic 6.26 million compare
- 27 Spain 6.24 million compare
- 28 Egypt 6.18 million compare
- 30 Kyrgyzstan 5.31 million compare
- 31 Slovakia 5.21 million compare
- 32 Republic of Korea 4.28 million compare
More private sector data for Belgium
- Merchandise trade 152.4% (2025)
- Food imports 11.8% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 66.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 537.70 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 69.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 568.11 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 47,573 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.7831 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 2.44 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Belgium?
- International tourism, number of departures in Belgium was 5.85 million 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 departures recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 14.19 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.64 million in 1996.
- How does Belgium rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Belgium ranks 29th out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium 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 departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.