Serbia: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Serbia's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 28.9% on 2019 (from US$2 billion to US$1.42 billion).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2019), the average change was +25.9% and a typical year strayed about 40.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 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 144.7% in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 28.9% 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$83.02 million a year. A straight line explains 62% 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 2020, Serbia had the 49th highest value of the 126 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 Serbia in the 2020 ranking

• Argentina — 46th of 126: US$1.7 billion
• Romania — 47th of 126: US$1.61 billion
• Costa Rica — 48th of 126: US$1.48 billion
• Slovenia — 50th of 126: US$1.42 billion
• Maldives — 51st of 126: US$1.41 billion
• Slovak Republic — 52nd of 126: US$1.3 billion

What this measures

International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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 19 values

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

• Albania — US$1.24 billion (2020)
• Armenia — US$303 million (2020)
• Austria — US$15.36 billion (2020)
• Azerbaijan — US$340 million (2020)
• Belarus — US$542 million (2020)
• Belgium — US$7.45 billion (2020)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$438 million (2020)
• Bulgaria — US$1.79 billion (2020)
• Croatia — US$5.63 billion (2020)
• Cyprus — US$663 million (2020)

More private sector & trade data for Serbia

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 84.58% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$47.23 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$37.31 billion (2025)
• New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) — 2.12 (2024)
• New businesses registered (number) — 8,788 (2024)
• International tourism, number of arrivals — 446,000 (2020)
• International tourism, expenditures (current US$) — US$1.18 billion (2020)
• Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 1.66% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports)

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 Serbia's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$1.42 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is up 1,747% from US$77 million in 2002 (17.59% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$2 billion in 2019 and the lowest US$77 million in 2002.

How does Serbia rank?

49th highest of 126 economies with data for 2020.

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

In 2020, Serbia's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 28.9% on 2019 (from US$2 billion to US$1.42 billion). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2019), the average change was +25.9% and a typical year strayed about 40.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 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.RCPT.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.