Samoa: International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Samoa's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 88.8% on 2019 (from US$206 million to US$23 million).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +8% and a typical year strayed about 8.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 10.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 27.8% in 2004 and the biggest yearly fall was 88.8% 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 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, Samoa had the 147th highest value of the 158 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 Samoa in the 2020 ranking

• Mongolia — 144th of 158: US$29 million
• Timor-Leste — 145th of 158: US$26 million
• Guyana — 146th of 158: US$24 million
• Comoros — 148th of 158: US$18 million
• São Tomé and Principe — 149th of 158: US$16.4 million
• Angola — 150th of 158: US$16 million

What this measures

International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 26 values

International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$25.67 billion (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$38 million (2020)
• Cambodia — US$1.02 billion (2020)
• China — US$14.23 billion (2020)
• Fiji — US$151 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$642 million (2018)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$2.84 billion (2020)
• Indonesia — US$3.31 billion (2020)
• Japan

More private sector & trade data for Samoa

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$467 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$24 million (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 75.22% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.62% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$462.21 million (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.62% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Samoa's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)?

US$23 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is down 34.29% from US$35 million in 1995 (1.67% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$206 million in 2019 and the lowest US$23 million in 2020.

How does Samoa rank?

147th highest of 158 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) unusual for Samoa?

In 2020, Samoa's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 88.8% on 2019 (from US$206 million to US$23 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +8% and a typical year strayed about 8.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 10.9 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.TVLR.CD, 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.