Panama's international tourism, number of arrivals was 647,000 in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 62.51% from 1.73 million in 2010 (9.35% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 647,000 | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 2.55 million | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.73 million | 2010 |
| Highest | 2.55 million | 2015 |
| Lowest | 417,000 | 1995 |
| Average since 2011 | 2.17 million | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 417,000 |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Panama's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 74.1% on 2019 (from 2.49 million to 647,000).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +7.9% and a typical year strayed about 6.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 12.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 22.8% in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 74.1% 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 6% 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, Panama had the 73rd highest value of the 130 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Panama | 647,000 | 2020 |
| World | 2.4 billion | 2019 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 201.86 million | 2019 |
| High income | 1.52 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Panama in the 2020 ranking
- Honduras — 70th of 130: 669,000
- Côte d'Ivoire — 71st of 130: 668,000
- Cayman Islands — 72nd of 130: 660,000
- Zimbabwe — 74th of 130: 639,000
- Guatemala — 75th of 130: 594,000
- Algeria — 76th of 130: 591,000
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 26 values
| Year | International tourism, number of arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 647,000 |
| 2019 | 2,494,000 |
| 2018 | 2,487,000 |
| 2017 | 2,517,000 |
| 2016 | 2,379,000 |
| 2015 | 2,553,000 |
| 2014 | 2,305,000 |
| 2013 | 2,202,000 |
| 2012 | 2,086,000 |
| 2011 | 2,004,000 |
| 2010 |
International tourism, number of arrivals in nearby economies
- Antigua and Barbuda — 384,500 (2020)
- Argentina — 7.4 million (2019)
- Aruba — 1.95 million (2019)
- Bahamas, The — 1.79 million (2020)
- Barbados — 966,000 (2019)
- Belize — 487,000 (2020)
- Bolivia — 323,300 (2020)
- Brazil — 6.35 million (2019)
- British Virgin Islands — 83,000 (2020)
- Cayman Islands — 660,000 (2020)
More private sector & trade data for Panama
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 41.64% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$25.76 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$11.9 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 50% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 23.48% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 26.45% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 2% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Panama's international tourism, number of arrivals?
- 647,000 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 55.16% from 417,000 in 1995 (1.77% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.55 million in 2015 and the lowest 417,000 in 1995.
- How does Panama rank?
- 73rd highest of 130 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for Panama?
- In 2020, Panama's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 74.1% on 2019 (from 2.49 million to 647,000). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +7.9% and a typical year strayed about 6.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 12.5 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.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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in