Iran, Islamic Rep.'s international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) was US$8.7 billion in 2018, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 14.92% from US$7.57 billion in 2008 (1.4% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$8.7 billion | 2018 |
| Five years earlier | US$8.84 billion | 2013 |
| Ten years earlier | US$7.57 billion | 2008 |
| Highest | US$11.51 billion | 2017 |
| Lowest | US$153 million | 1998 |
| Average since 2009 | US$9.28 billion | 2009–2018 |
| First recorded | US$241 million |
What the numbers say
In 2018, Iran, Islamic Rep.'s international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 24.4% on 2017 (from US$11.51 billion to US$8.7 billion).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +40.1% and a typical year strayed about 110.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below 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 429.7% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 59.9% in 1998. 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 20% 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, Iran, Islamic Rep. had the 1st highest value of the 10 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | US$8.7 billion | 2018 |
| World | US$1.4 trillion | 2019 |
| Upper middle income | US$417.2 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Iran, Islamic Rep. in the 2018 ranking
- Libya — 2nd of 10: US$2.04 billion
- Puerto Rico (US) — 3rd of 10: US$592 million
- Mali — 4th of 10: US$179 million
What this measures
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 24 values
| Year | International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 8,695,000,000 |
| 2017 | 11,507,000,000 |
| 2016 | 10,233,000,000 |
| 2015 | 8,992,000,000 |
| 2014 | 9,452,000,000 |
| 2013 | 8,839,000,000 |
| 2012 | 7,825,000,000 |
| 2011 | 9,775,000,000 |
| 2010 | 9,655,000,000 |
| 2009 | 7,805,000,000 |
International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — US$30 million (2020)
- Algeria — US$234 million (2020)
- Bahrain — US$1.72 billion (2019)
- Djibouti — US$14.9 million (2020)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$2.51 billion (2020)
- Iraq — US$4.17 billion (2020)
- Israel — US$1.8 billion (2020)
- Jordan — US$381 million (2020)
- Kuwait
More private sector & trade data for Iran, Islamic Rep.
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 49.32% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$65.63 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$113.23 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 30.34% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 50.61% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 48.54% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 3.32% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Iran, Islamic Rep.'s international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$)?
- US$8.7 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 3,508% from US$241 million in 1995 (16.87% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$11.51 billion in 2017 and the lowest US$153 million in 1998.
- How does Iran, Islamic Rep. rank?
- 1st highest of 10 economies with data for 2018.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) unusual for Iran, Islamic Rep.?
- In 2018, Iran, Islamic Rep.'s international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 24.4% on 2017 (from US$11.51 billion to US$8.7 billion). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +40.1% and a typical year strayed about 110.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below 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.TVLX.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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