Qatar: International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.16 percentage points from 19.64% in 2015. Since 2011 it is up 1.64 percentage points from 17.84% in 2011.

What the numbers say

In 2020, Qatar's international tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) rose 0.71 percentage points on 2019 (from 18.76% to 19.48%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2019), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above 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 1.73 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.89 percentage points in 2018. 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 less than 1% 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, Qatar had the 2nd highest value of the 127 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 Qatar in the 2020 ranking

• Aruba — 2nd of 127: 18.85%
• Guinea — 3rd of 127: 17.03%
• Kuwait — 4th of 127: 15.21%

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. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.

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 weighted average.

All 10 values

International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.7% (2020)
• Algeria — 0.64% (2020)
• Bahrain — 10.26% (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.56% (2020)
• Iraq — 7.6% (2020)
• Israel — 2.21% (2020)
• Jordan — 2.21% (2020)
• Kuwait — 15.21% (2020)
• Lebanon — 11.17% (2020)
• Libya

More private sector & trade data for Qatar

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$37.54 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$88.77 billion (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 58.6% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 8.7% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 65.91% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 32.26% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 19.6% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports)

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 Qatar's international tourism, expenditures (% of total imports)?

19.48% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2011?

It is up 1.64 percentage points from 17.84% in 2011. The highest value was 20.72% in 2016 and the lowest 17.84% in 2011.

How does Qatar rank?

2nd highest of 127 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in international tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) unusual for Qatar?

In 2020, Qatar's international tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) rose 0.71 percentage points on 2019 (from 18.76% to 19.48%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2019), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.18 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above 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.XPND.MP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism; IMF imports estimates, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Bank imports estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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