Ghana: International tourism, number of arrivals

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2015, Ghana's international tourism, number of arrivals rose 8.7% on 2014 (from 825,000 to 897,000).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2014), the average change was +6.5% and a typical year strayed about 12% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 18.9% in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 26.5% in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2006 to 2015 the straight-line trend is upward, about 42,036 a year. A straight line explains 65% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.

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. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.

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

All 21 values

International tourism, number of arrivals in nearby economies

• Angola — 218,000 (2019)
• Benin — 337,000 (2019)
• Botswana — 1.83 million (2018)
• Burkina Faso — 67,000 (2020)
• Burundi — 299,000 (2017)
• Cabo Verde — 180,000 (2020)
• Cameroon — 1.02 million (2019)
• Central African Republic — 87,000 (2019)
• Chad — 10,400 (2020)
• Comoros — 7,000 (2020)

More private sector & trade data for Ghana

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 42.52% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$17.45 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$31.11 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 10.1% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 56.4% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 36.6% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 22.78% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ghana's international tourism, number of arrivals?

897,000 in 2015, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 213.64% from 286,000 in 1995 (5.88% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 994,000 in 2013 and the lowest 286,000 in 1995.

Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for Ghana?

In 2015, Ghana's international tourism, number of arrivals rose 8.7% on 2014 (from 825,000 to 897,000). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2014), the average change was +6.5% and a typical year strayed about 12% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.

Source

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