China's international tourism, number of departures was 20.33 million in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 64.57% from 57.39 million in 2010 (9.85% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 20.33 million | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 127.86 million | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 57.39 million | 2010 |
| Highest | 154.63 million | 2019 |
| Lowest | 4.52 million | 1995 |
| Average since 2011 | 109.89 million | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 4.52 million |
What the numbers say
In 2020, China's international tourism, number of departures fell 86.9% on 2019 (from 154.63 million to 20.33 million).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +16.5% and a typical year strayed about 13.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 7.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 58.3% in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 86.9% 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 3% 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, China had the 6th highest value of the 70 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| China | 20.33 million | 2020 |
| World | 2.03 billion | 2019 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 415.49 million | 2019 |
| Upper middle income | 444.87 million | 2019 |
Closest to China in the 2020 ranking
- United Kingdom — 3rd of 70: 23.83 million
- Italy — 4th of 70: 21.45 million
- France — 5th of 70: 21.29 million
- Hungary — 7th of 70: 12.73 million
- Russian Federation — 8th of 70: 12.36 million
- Ukraine — 9th of 70: 11.25 million
What this measures
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.
Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 26 values
| Year | International tourism, number of departures |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 20,334,000 |
| 2019 | 154,632,000 |
| 2018 | 149,720,000 |
| 2017 | 143,035,000 |
| 2016 | 135,130,000 |
| 2015 | 127,860,000 |
| 2014 | 116,593,000 |
| 2013 | 98,185,000 |
| 2012 | 83,182,000 |
| 2011 | 70,250,000 |
| 2010 |
International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies
- Australia — 2.83 million (2020)
- Cambodia — 326,000 (2020)
- Fiji — 174,000 (2019)
- French Polynesia — 12,000 (2020)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 8.26 million (2020)
- Indonesia — 2.92 million (2020)
- Japan — 3.17 million (2020)
- Korea, Rep. — 4.28 million (2020)
- Lao PDR — 707,000 (2020)
- Macao SAR, China — 125,000 (2020)
More private sector & trade data for China
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 32.59% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$2.58 trillion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$3.77 trillion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 8.82% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 68.06% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 16.7% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 15.21% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is China's international tourism, number of departures?
- 20.33 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 349.87% from 4.52 million in 1995 (6.2% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 154.63 million in 2019 and the lowest 4.52 million in 1995.
- How does China rank?
- 6th highest of 70 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of departures unusual for China?
- In 2020, China's international tourism, number of departures fell 86.9% on 2019 (from 154.63 million to 20.33 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +16.5% and a typical year strayed about 13.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 7.8 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.DPRT, 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.
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