Myanmar: International tourism, expenditures (current US$)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 79.83% from US$119 million in 2014 (12.45% a year on average, compounded). Since 1997 it is up 463.16% from US$38 million in 1997 (8.17% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 2 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2019, Myanmar's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 81.4% on 2018 (from US$118 million to US$214 million).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2018), the average change was +5.2% and a typical year strayed about 32.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 100.8% in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 50.6% in 2013. 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 2019 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 9 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, Myanmar had the 6th highest value of the 13 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 Myanmar in the 2019 ranking

• Tanzania — 3rd of 13: US$738.2 million
• Haiti — 4th of 13: US$554 million
• Cayman Islands — 5th of 13: US$299 million
• Burkina Faso — 7th of 13: US$185.2 million
• Niger — 8th of 13: US$144.5 million
• Benin — 9th of 13: US$130 million

What this measures

International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures 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. Expenditure associated with the activity of international visitors has been traditionally identified with the travel item of the Balance of Payments (BOP).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 21 values

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

• Australia — US$7.65 billion (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$585 million (2018)
• Cambodia — US$213 million (2020)
• Fiji — US$77 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$226 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$26.5 billion (2018)
• Indonesia — US$1.98 billion (2020)
• Japan — US$6.74 billion (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — US$16.71 billion (2020)
• Lao PDR

More private sector & trade data for Myanmar

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 36.28% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$14.33 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$15.3 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 34.33% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 4.32% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 61.35% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 3.02% (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 Myanmar's international tourism, expenditures (current US$)?

US$214 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is up 463.16% from US$38 million in 1997 (8.17% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$265 million in 2012 and the lowest US$26 million in 1999.

How does Myanmar rank?

6th highest of 13 economies with data for 2019.

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

In 2019, Myanmar's international tourism, expenditures (current US$) rose 81.4% on 2018 (from US$118 million to US$214 million). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2018), the average change was +5.2% and a typical year strayed about 32.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.XPND.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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