Rwanda's international tourism, number of arrivals was 1.63 million in 2019, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 146.08% from 664,000 in 2009 (9.42% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 1.63 million | 2019 |
| Five years earlier | 1.22 million | 2014 |
| Ten years earlier | 664,000 | 2009 |
| Highest | 1.71 million | 2018 |
| Lowest | 531,000 | 2006 |
| Average since 2010 | 1.26 million | 2010–2019 |
| First recorded | 531,000 |
What the numbers say
In 2019, Rwanda's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 4.5% on 2018 (from 1.71 million to 1.63 million).
Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2018), the average change was +10.6% and a typical year strayed about 9.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 36.1% in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.5% in 2019. 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 107,345 a year. A straight line explains 96% 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, Rwanda had the 26th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Rwanda | 1.63 million | 2019 |
| World | 2.4 billion | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 56.01 million | 2019 |
| Low income | 17.41 million | 2019 |
Closest to Rwanda in the 2019 ranking
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 14 values
| Year | International tourism, number of arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,634,000 |
| 2018 | 1,711,000 |
| 2017 | 1,570,000 |
| 2016 | 1,377,000 |
| 2015 | 1,298,000 |
| 2014 | 1,220,000 |
| 2013 | 1,122,000 |
| 2012 | 1,061,000 |
| 2011 | 908,000 |
| 2010 | 667,000 |
| 2009 |
International tourism, number of arrivals in nearby economies
- Angola — 218,000 (2019)
- Benin — 337,000 (2019)
- Botswana — 1.83 million (2018)
- Burkina Faso — 67,000 (2020)
- Burundi — 299,000 (2017)
- Cabo Verde — 180,000 (2020)
- Cameroon — 1.02 million (2019)
- Central African Republic — 87,000 (2019)
- Chad — 10,400 (2020)
- Comoros — 7,000 (2020)
More private sector & trade data for Rwanda
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 45.93% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$5.07 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$2.45 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 38.93% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.21% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.00312% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$3.82 billion (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Rwanda's international tourism, number of arrivals?
- 1.63 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2006?
- It is up 207.72% from 531,000 in 2006 (9.03% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.71 million in 2018 and the lowest 531,000 in 2006.
- How does Rwanda rank?
- 26th highest of 46 economies with data for 2019.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for Rwanda?
- In 2019, Rwanda's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 4.5% on 2018 (from 1.71 million to 1.63 million). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2018), the average change was +10.6% and a typical year strayed about 9.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
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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