Malta's international tourism, number of departures was 218,000 in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 33.54% from 328,000 in 2010 (4% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 218,000 | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 456,000 | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 328,000 | 2010 |
| Highest | 774,000 | 2019 |
| Lowest | 218,000 | 2020 |
| Average since 2011 | 490,900 | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 292,000 | 2008 |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Malta's international tourism, number of departures fell 71.8% on 2019 (from 774,000 to 218,000).
Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +9.4% and a typical year strayed about 5.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 13.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 20.6% in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 71.8% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 17% 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 2020, Malta had the 59th highest value of the 70 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Malta | 218,000 | 2020 |
| World | 2.03 billion | 2019 |
| High income | 1.04 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Malta in the 2020 ranking
- Costa Rica — 56th of 70: 324,000
- Sri Lanka — 57th of 70: 305,000
- Cuba — 58th of 70: 271,000
- Paraguay — 60th of 70: 214,000
- Dominican Republic — 61st of 70: 210,000
- Iceland — 62nd of 70: 130,000
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 13 values
| Year | International tourism, number of departures |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 218,000 |
| 2019 | 774,000 |
| 2018 | 728,000 |
| 2017 | 633,000 |
| 2016 | 550,000 |
| 2015 | 456,000 |
| 2014 | 430,000 |
| 2013 | 404,000 |
| 2012 | 368,000 |
| 2011 | 348,000 |
| 2010 |
International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies
More private sector & trade data for Malta
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$9.22 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$3.82 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 2.59% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 84.63% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 13.43% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 6.3% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & Central Asia (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malta's international tourism, number of departures?
- 218,000 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2008?
- It is down 25.34% from 292,000 in 2008 (2.41% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 774,000 in 2019 and the lowest 218,000 in 2020.
- How does Malta rank?
- 59th highest of 70 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of departures unusual for Malta?
- In 2020, Malta's international tourism, number of departures fell 71.8% on 2019 (from 774,000 to 218,000). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +9.4% and a typical year strayed about 5.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 13.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
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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