Kenya: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Kenya's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 1.2% on 2018 (from US$1.78 billion to US$1.76 billion).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +6.2% and a typical year strayed about 21.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 44.1% in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 58.7% in 2000. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% 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 2019, Kenya had the 5th 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.

Closest to Kenya in the 2019 ranking

• Hong Kong SAR, China — 2nd of 10: US$32.7 billion
• Tanzania — 3rd of 10: US$2.62 billion
• Myanmar — 4th of 10: US$2.5 billion
• Cayman Islands — 6th of 10: US$964 million
• Togo — 7th of 10: US$264 million
• Benin — 8th of 10: US$240.86 million

What this measures

International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts 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. 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 25 values

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

• Angola — US$19 million (2020)
• Benin — US$240.86 million (2019)
• Botswana — US$217 million (2020)
• Burkina Faso — US$173 million (2019)
• Cabo Verde — US$169 million (2020)
• Cameroon — US$437 million (2020)
• Comoros — US$18.5 million (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$60.5 million (2018)
• Congo, Rep. — US$42.9 million (2016)
• Côte d'Ivoire

More private sector & trade data for Kenya

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 22.23% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$21.61 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$8.6 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 25.82% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 49.35% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.0000627% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$18.59 billion (2023)
• Merchandise exports to economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise exports) — 16.16% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Kenya's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$1.76 billion in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 124.46% from US$785 million in 1995 (3.43% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$2 billion in 2012 and the lowest US$500 million in 2000.

How does Kenya rank?

5th highest of 10 economies with data for 2019.

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

In 2019, Kenya's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 1.2% on 2018 (from US$1.78 billion to US$1.76 billion). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +6.2% and a typical year strayed about 21.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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.RCPT.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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