Botswana's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) was US$211 million in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 51.83% from US$438 million in 2010 (7.04% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$211 million | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | US$533 million | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | US$438 million | 2010 |
| Highest | US$705 million | 2019 |
| Lowest | US$93 million | 1996 |
| Average since 2011 | US$506.3 million | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | US$162 million |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Botswana's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 70.1% on 2019 (from US$705 million to US$211 million).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +8.7% and a typical year strayed about 22.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 46.2% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 70.1% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2020, Botswana had the 110th highest value of the 158 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Botswana | US$211 million | 2020 |
| World | US$1.47 trillion | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | US$28.8 billion | 2019 |
| Upper middle income | US$289.87 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Botswana in the 2020 ranking
- Seychelles — 107th of 158: US$221 million
- Bangladesh — 108th of 158: US$217 million
- Lao PDR — 109th of 158: US$213 million
- Nicaragua — 111th of 158: US$199 million
- Nepal — 112th of 158: US$197 million
- Grenada — 113th of 158: US$195 million
What this measures
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 26 values
| Year | International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 211,000,000 |
| 2019 | 705,000,000 |
| 2018 | 582,000,000 |
| 2017 | 542,000,000 |
| 2016 | 503,000,000 |
| 2015 | 533,000,000 |
| 2014 | 528,000,000 |
| 2013 | 481,000,000 |
| 2012 | 513,000,000 |
| 2011 | 465,000,000 |
International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$16 million (2020)
- Benin — US$240 million (2019)
- Burkina Faso — US$116 million (2019)
- Burundi — US$3.9 million (2018)
- Cabo Verde — US$159 million (2020)
- Cameroon — US$437 million (2020)
- Comoros — US$18 million (2020)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$80.8 million (2020)
- Congo, Rep.
More private sector & trade data for Botswana
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 57.78% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$6.4 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$5.12 billion (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 0.57% (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 64.52% (2025)
- Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$1.3 billion (2025)
- Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 25.54% (2025)
- Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 9.37% (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Botswana's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)?
- US$211 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 30.25% from US$162 million in 1995 (1.06% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$705 million in 2019 and the lowest US$93 million in 1996.
- How does Botswana rank?
- 110th highest of 158 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) unusual for Botswana?
- In 2020, Botswana's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 70.1% on 2019 (from US$705 million to US$211 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +8.7% and a typical year strayed about 22.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.TVLR.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in