Saudi Arabia's international tourism, number of departures was 27.2 million in 2019, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 320.54% from 6.47 million in 2009 (15.45% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 27.2 million | 2019 |
| Five years earlier | 22.32 million | 2014 |
| Ten years earlier | 6.47 million | 2009 |
| Highest | 28.75 million | 2017 |
| Lowest | 2.34 million | 2006 |
| Average since 2010 | 23.55 million | 2010–2019 |
| First recorded | 4.23 million |
What the numbers say
In 2019, Saudi Arabia's international tourism, number of departures fell 0.8% on 2018 (from 27.43 million to 27.2 million).
Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2018), the average change was +24.2% and a typical year strayed about 58.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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 188% in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 53.4% in 2006. 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 1.33 million a year. A straight line explains 85% 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, Saudi Arabia had the 4th highest value of the 21 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 27.2 million | 2019 |
| World | 2.03 billion | 2019 |
| High income | 1.04 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Saudi Arabia in the 2019 ranking
- Germany — 1st of 21: 99.53 million
- Poland — 2nd of 21: 50.6 million
- Canada — 3rd of 21: 37.85 million
- India — 5th of 21: 26.92 million
- Netherlands — 6th of 21: 22.05 million
- Switzerland — 7th of 21: 19.8 million
What this measures
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.
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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 16 values
| Year | International tourism, number of departures |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 27,196,000 |
| 2018 | 27,425,000 |
| 2017 | 28,748,000 |
| 2016 | 27,618,000 |
| 2015 | 25,054,000 |
| 2014 | 22,322,602 |
| 2013 | 22,535,457 |
| 2012 | 20,084,260 |
| 2011 | 15,865,399 |
| 2010 | 18,625,000 |
| 2009 |
International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies
More private sector & trade data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 44.23% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$254.06 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$310.67 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 14.54% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 56.97% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 39.1% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 26.57% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Saudi Arabia's international tourism, number of departures?
- 27.2 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2004?
- It is up 542.32% from 4.23 million in 2004 (13.2% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 28.75 million in 2017 and the lowest 2.34 million in 2006.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank?
- 4th highest of 21 economies with data for 2019.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of departures unusual for Saudi Arabia?
- In 2019, Saudi Arabia's international tourism, number of departures fell 0.8% on 2018 (from 27.43 million to 27.2 million). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2018), the average change was +24.2% and a typical year strayed about 58.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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.DPRT, 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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