International tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: International tourism, number of departures was 305,000 in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka stood at 305,000. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 78.8% on the previous year and down 72.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.48 million in 2018 and was at its lowest, 305,000, in 2020.
That places Sri Lanka 91st out of 117 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 departures in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 504,000 | — |
| 1996 | 494,000 | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 531,000 | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 518,000 | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 497,000 | -4.1% |
| 2000 | 524,000 | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 505,000 | -3.6% |
| 2002 | 533,000 | +5.5% |
| 2003 | 561,000 | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 680,000 | +21.2% |
| 2005 | 727,000 | +6.9% |
| 2006 | 757,000 | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 862,000 | +13.9% |
| 2008 | 966,000 | +12.1% |
| 2009 | 963,000 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 1.12 million | +16.5% |
| 2011 | 1.24 million | +10.4% |
| 2012 | 1.27 million | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 1.26 million | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 1.31 million | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 1.36 million | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 1.45 million | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 1.44 million | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 1.48 million | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 1.44 million | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 305,000 | -78.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 305,000 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.22 million, 25% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 305,000 is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.20 million, 25% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka 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 | -78.8% | 1.44 million | 305,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 508,800 | 494,000 | 531,000 | 5 |
| 2000s | 707,800 | 505,000 | 966,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.34 million | 1.12 million | 1.48 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 305,000 | 305,000 | 305,000 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More private sector data for Sri Lanka
- Merchandise trade 32.2% (2025)
- Food imports 14.9% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 63.8% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 21.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 3.35 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 29.0% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 63.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 13.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 7.05 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 624.24 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka?
- International tourism, number of departures in Sri Lanka was 305,000 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 1.48 million in 2018.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 305,000 in 2020.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Sri Lanka ranks 91st out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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 — 26 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.