India's international tourism, number of departures was 26.92 million in 2019, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 143.2% from 11.07 million in 2009 (9.29% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 26.92 million | 2019 |
| Five years earlier | 18.33 million | 2014 |
| Ten years earlier | 11.07 million | 2009 |
| Highest | 26.92 million | 2019 |
| Lowest | 3.06 million | 1995 |
| Average since 2010 | 19.63 million | 2010–2019 |
| First recorded | 3.06 million |
What the numbers say
In 2019, India's international tourism, number of departures rose 2.4% on 2018 (from 26.3 million to 26.92 million).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +9.9% and a typical year strayed about 4.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17.4% in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.66 million a year. A straight line explains 99% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 31.49 million for 2022. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2017 to 2019 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 1.99 million, against 3.85 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2019, India had the 5th highest value of the 21 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| India | 26.92 million | 2019 |
| World | 2.03 billion | 2019 |
| South Asia | 37.27 million | 2019 |
Closest to India in the 2019 ranking
- Poland — 2nd of 21: 50.6 million
- Canada — 3rd of 21: 37.85 million
- Saudi Arabia — 4th of 21: 27.2 million
- Netherlands — 6th of 21: 22.05 million
- Switzerland — 7th of 21: 19.8 million
- Argentina — 8th of 21: 15.35 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 25 values
| Year | International tourism, number of departures |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 26,915,000 |
| 2018 | 26,296,000 |
| 2017 | 23,943,000 |
| 2016 | 21,872,000 |
| 2015 | 20,376,000 |
| 2014 | 18,330,000 |
| 2013 | 16,626,000 |
| 2012 | 14,920,000 |
| 2011 | 13,994,000 |
| 2010 | 12,988,000 |
| 2009 |
International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies
More private sector & trade data for India
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 30.3% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$753.48 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$445.28 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 21.43% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 61.44% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 37.77% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 23.66% (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 India's international tourism, number of departures?
- 26.92 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 780.73% from 3.06 million in 1995 (9.49% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 26.92 million in 2019 and the lowest 3.06 million in 1995.
- How does India rank?
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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