North Macedonia: International tourism, expenditures for passenger transport items (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, North Macedonia's international tourism, expenditures for passenger transport items (current US$) fell 70% on 2019 (from US$20 million to US$6 million).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2019), the average change was +11.5% and a typical year strayed about 35.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 140% in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 70% 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$3.78 million a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$3.67 million for 2023. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2018 to 2020 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$4.43 million, against US$9.67 million for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2020, North Macedonia had the 106th highest value of the 123 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 North Macedonia in the 2020 ranking

• Tajikistan — 103rd of 123: US$7.3 million
• Cabo Verde — 104th of 123: US$7 million
• Timor-Leste — 105th of 123: US$7 million
• Mozambique — 107th of 123: US$5 million
• Namibia — 108th of 123: US$5 million
• Tonga — 109th of 123: US$5 million

What this measures

International tourism expenditures for passenger transport items are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries for all services provided during international transportation by nonresident carriers. Also included are passenger services performed within an economy by nonresident carriers. Excluded are passenger services provided to nonresidents by resident carriers within the resident economies; these are included in travel items. In addition to the services covered by passenger fares--including fares that are a part of package tours but excluding cruise fares, which are included in travel--passenger services include such items as charges for excess baggage, vehicles, or other personal accompanying effects and expenditures for food, drink, or other items for which passengers make expenditures while on board carriers. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 25 values

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

• Albania — US$42 million (2020)
• Armenia — US$23 million (2020)
• Austria — US$648 million (2020)
• Azerbaijan — US$27 million (2020)
• Belarus — US$32 million (2020)
• Belgium — US$893 million (2020)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$51 million (2020)
• Bulgaria — US$215 million (2020)

More private sector & trade data for North Macedonia

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 115.78% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$13.06 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$9.06 billion (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials imports (% of merchandise imports) — 0.63% (2025)
• Food imports (% of merchandise imports) — 12.04% (2025)
• Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) — 10.82% (2025)
• Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) — 63.43% (2025)
• Ores and metals imports (% of merchandise imports) — 12.77% (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is North Macedonia's international tourism, expenditures for passenger transport items (current US$)?

US$6 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

Source

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