International tourism, number of departures in Macao
Macao: International tourism, number of departures was 125,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in Macao, 2005–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, number of departures in Macao is 125,000, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 92.9% on the previous year and down 83.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Macao peaked at 1.78 million in 2018 and was at its lowest, 125,000, in 2020.
That places Macao 101st out of 117 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in Macao, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 629,000 | — |
| 2006 | 645,000 | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 599,000 | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 606,000 | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 671,000 | +10.7% |
| 2010 | 753,000 | +12.2% |
| 2011 | 908,000 | +20.6% |
| 2012 | 1.29 million | +42.2% |
| 2013 | 1.45 million | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 1.54 million | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 1.47 million | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 1.25 million | -14.7% |
| 2017 | 1.39 million | +11.2% |
| 2018 | 1.78 million | +28.0% |
| 2019 | 1.76 million | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 125,000 | -92.9% |
Macao compared with similar countries
- Macao's 125,000 is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.67 million, 5% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Macao's 125,000 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 707,000, 18% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in Macao 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 | -92.9% | 1.76 million | 125,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 630,000 | 599,000 | 671,000 | 5 |
| 2010s | 1.36 million | 753,000 | 1.78 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 125,000 | 125,000 | 125,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Macao
- 98 Fiji 174,000 compare
- 99 British Virgin Islands 139,000 compare
- 100 Iceland 130,000 compare
- 102 Maldives 123,000
- 103 Sierra Leone 122,000 compare
- 104 Papua New Guinea 92,000
More private sector data for Macao
- Merchandise trade 33.2% (2025)
- Food imports 18.3% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 70.3% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 15.54 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 7.02 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 37.2% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 5.9% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 1.73 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 43.56 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,528 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Macao?
- International tourism, number of departures in Macao was 125,000 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 departures recorded in Macao?
- The highest recorded value was 1.78 million in 2018.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Macao?
- The lowest recorded value was 125,000 in 2020.
- How does Macao rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Macao ranks 101st out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Macao?
- Over the last ten years it is down 83.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Macao 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
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.