São Tomé and Principe: International tourism, number of arrivals

Key figures

Since 1995 it is up 438.71% from 6,200 in 1995 (7.6% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 3 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, São Tomé and Principe's international tourism, number of arrivals rose 15.6% on 2017 (from 28,900 to 33,400).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +7.4% and a typical year strayed about 23.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 52.5% in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 47.4% in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to São Tomé and Principe in the 2018 ranking

• Tajikistan — 2nd of 5: 1.04 million
• Malawi — 3rd of 5: 871,000
• Sudan — 4th of 5: 836,000

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 21 values

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 São Tomé and Principe

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$183 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$38 million (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 22.52% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 50.15% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$181.65 million (2023)
• Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 96.73% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports)

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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Questions people ask

What is São Tomé and Principe's international tourism, number of arrivals?

33,400 in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 438.71% from 6,200 in 1995 (7.6% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 33,400 in 2018 and the lowest 4,800 in 1997.

Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for São Tomé and Principe?

In 2018, São Tomé and Principe's international tourism, number of arrivals rose 15.6% on 2017 (from 28,900 to 33,400). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +7.4% and a typical year strayed about 23.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.

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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