Moldova: International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Moldova's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 28.5% on 2019 (from US$386 million to US$276 million).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +9.4% and a typical year strayed about 14.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 34.8% in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 28.5% 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 4% 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, Moldova had the 87th highest value of the 155 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 Moldova in the 2020 ranking

• Latvia — 85th of 155: US$301 million
• Costa Rica — 86th of 155: US$300 million
• Lesotho — 87th of 155: US$276 million
• Bolivia — 89th of 155: US$274 million
• Nepal — 90th of 155: US$263 million
• Guatemala — 91st of 155: US$256 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 26 values

International tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies

• Albania — US$763 million (2020)
• Armenia — US$307 million (2020)
• Austria — US$4.9 billion (2020)
• Azerbaijan — US$412 million (2020)
• Belarus — US$445 million (2020)
• Belgium — US$13.04 billion (2020)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$112 million (2020)
• Bulgaria — US$1.05 billion (2020)
• Croatia

More private sector & trade data for Moldova

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 72.25% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$10.92 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$3.78 billion (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials imports (% of merchandise imports) — 1.45% (2025)
• Food imports (% of merchandise imports) — 14.85% (2025)
• Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) — 22.41% (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 1.93% (2025)
• Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) — 59.71% (2025)
• Ores and metals imports (% of merchandise imports) — 0.71% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Moldova's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$)?

US$276 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 392.86% from US$56 million in 1995 (6.59% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$386 million in 2019 and the lowest US$52 million in 1996.

How does Moldova rank?

87th highest of 155 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) unusual for Moldova?

In 2020, Moldova's international tourism, expenditures for travel items (current US$) fell 28.5% on 2019 (from US$386 million to US$276 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +9.4% and a typical year strayed about 14.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 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.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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