Denmark: International tourism, expenditures (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Denmark's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 6.9% on 2017 (from US$9.8 billion to US$10.49 billion).

Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 8.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 20.1% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.6% in 2015. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% 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 2018, Denmark had the 3rd highest value of the 15 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.

Closest to Denmark in the 2018 ranking

• Hong Kong SAR, China — 1st of 15: US$26.5 billion
• Singapore — 2nd of 15: US$25.35 billion
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4th of 15: US$9.27 billion
• New Zealand — 5th of 15: US$4.6 billion
• Libya — 6th of 15: US$2.04 billion

What this measures

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 24 values

International tourism, expenditures (current US$) in nearby economies

• Albania — US$805 million (2020)
• Armenia — US$330 million (2020)
• Austria — US$5.55 billion (2020)
• Azerbaijan — US$439 million (2020)
• Belarus — US$477 million (2020)
• Belgium — US$13.93 billion (2020)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$163 million (2020)
• Bulgaria — US$1.26 billion (2020)
• Croatia — US$789.69 million (2020)
• Cyprus

More private sector & trade data for Denmark

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 61.53% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$136.23 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$148.38 billion (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials imports (% of merchandise imports) — 1.89% (2025)
• Food imports (% of merchandise imports) — 13.58% (2025)
• Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) — 6.04% (2025)
• Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) — 75.76% (2025)
• Ores and metals imports (% of merchandise imports) — 1.97% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.58% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Denmark's international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?

US$10.49 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 144.52% from US$4.29 billion in 1995 (3.96% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$10.49 billion in 2018 and the lowest US$4.14 billion in 1996.

How does Denmark rank?

3rd highest of 15 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (current US$) unusual for Denmark?

In 2018, Denmark's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 6.9% on 2017 (from US$9.8 billion to US$10.49 billion). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 8.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.XPND.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.

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