Libya's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) was US$2.04 billion in 2018, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 59.91% from US$1.28 billion in 2008 (4.81% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$2.04 billion | 2018 |
| Five years earlier | US$2.43 billion | 2013 |
| Ten years earlier | US$1.28 billion | 2008 |
| Highest | US$2.56 billion | 2012 |
| Lowest | US$67 million | 1996 |
| Average since 2009 | US$1.78 billion | 2009–2018 |
| First recorded | US$76 million |
What the numbers say
In 2018, Libya's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) rose 1.8% on 2017 (from US$2.01 billion to US$2.04 billion).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +28.6% and a typical year strayed about 74.8% 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 301.5% in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 52.9% in 2014. 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 8% 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, Libya had the 2nd 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Libya | US$2.04 billion | 2018 |
| World | US$1.4 trillion | 2019 |
| Upper middle income | US$417.2 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Libya in the 2018 ranking
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1st of 10: US$8.7 billion
- Puerto Rico (US) — 3rd of 10: US$592 million
- Mali — 4th of 10: US$179 million
- French Polynesia — 5th of 10: US$177 million
What this measures
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 24 values
| Year | International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2,042,000,000 |
| 2017 | 2,005,000,000 |
| 2016 | 714,000,000 |
| 2015 | 967,000,000 |
| 2014 | 1,143,000,000 |
| 2013 | 2,425,000,000 |
| 2012 | 2,557,000,000 |
| 2011 | 2,269,000,000 |
| 2010 | 2,047,000,000 |
| 2009 | 1,587,000,000 |
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)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$8.7 billion (2018)
- Iraq — US$4.17 billion (2020)
- Israel — US$1.8 billion (2020)
- Jordan
More private sector & trade data for Libya
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 102.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$19.31 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$30.09 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.21% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 51.53% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 48.43% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & Central Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 18.69% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Libya's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$)?
- US$2.04 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 2,587% from US$76 million in 1995 (15.38% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$2.56 billion in 2012 and the lowest US$67 million in 1996.
- How does Libya rank?
- 2nd highest of 10 economies with data for 2018.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) unusual for Libya?
- In 2018, Libya's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) rose 1.8% on 2017 (from US$2.01 billion to US$2.04 billion). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +28.6% and a typical year strayed about 74.8% 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.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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