Northern Mariana Islands: International tourism, number of arrivals

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Northern Mariana Islands' international tourism, number of arrivals fell 6% on 2018 (from 518,000 to 487,000).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was −0.3% and a typical year strayed about 13.2% 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 24.3% in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 29.5% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 23,036 a year. A straight line explains 60% 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.

How it compares

In 2019, Northern Mariana Islands had the 33rd highest value of the 46 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 Northern Mariana Islands in the 2019 ranking

• Cameroon — 30th of 46: 1.02 million
• Barbados — 31st of 46: 966,000
• Haiti — 32nd of 46: 938,000
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 34th of 46: 392,000
• Benin — 35th of 46: 337,000
• Bangladesh — 36th of 46: 323,000

What this measures

International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.

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. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.

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

All 25 values

International tourism, number of arrivals in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 900 (2020)
• Australia — 1.83 million (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — 1.07 million (2020)
• Cambodia — 1.31 million (2020)
• China — 30.4 million (2020)
• Fiji — 168,000 (2020)
• French Polynesia — 89,400 (2020)
• Guam — 328,000 (2020)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.57 million (2020)
• Indonesia — 4.05 million (2020)

More private sector & trade data for Northern Mariana Islands

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$512 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$6 million (2025)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 122.6 (2025)
• Export unit value index (2015 = 100) — 138.9 (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 50.55% (2022)

Every indicator for Northern Mariana Islands is on the Northern Mariana Islands data page.

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Northern Mariana Islands's international tourism, number of arrivals?

487,000 in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 27.96% from 676,000 in 1995 (1.36% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 736,000 in 1996 and the lowest 341,000 in 2011.

How does Northern Mariana Islands rank?

33rd highest of 46 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for Northern Mariana Islands?

In 2019, Northern Mariana Islands' international tourism, number of arrivals fell 6% on 2018 (from 518,000 to 487,000). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was −0.3% and a typical year strayed about 13.2% 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.ARVL, 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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