Uganda: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Uganda's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 63% on 2019 (from US$1.4 billion to US$518 million).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2019), the average change was +13.7% and a typical year strayed about 21.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 59.5% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 63% 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 less than 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, Uganda had the 77th 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 Uganda in the 2020 ranking

• Belarus — 75th of 126: US$542 million
• Kuwait — 76th of 126: US$524 million
• Mauritius — 77th of 126: US$518 million
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 79th of 126: US$438 million
• Cameroon — 80th of 126: US$437 million
• Uzbekistan — 81st of 126: US$395 million

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 20 values

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

• Angola — US$19 million (2020)
• Benin — US$240.86 million (2019)
• Botswana — US$217 million (2020)
• Burkina Faso — US$173 million (2019)
• Cabo Verde — US$169 million (2020)
• Cameroon — US$437 million (2020)
• Comoros — US$18.5 million (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$60.5 million (2018)
• Congo, Rep. — US$42.9 million (2016)
• Côte d'Ivoire

More private sector & trade data for Uganda

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 49.85% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$18.4 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$12.5 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 35% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 38.06% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.54% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 11.15% (2023)

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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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Uganda's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$518 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 177.01% from US$187 million in 2001 (5.51% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.52 billion in 2018 and the lowest US$185 million in 2003.

How does Uganda rank?

77th highest of 126 economies with data for 2020.

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

In 2020, Uganda's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 63% on 2019 (from US$1.4 billion to US$518 million). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2019), the average change was +13.7% and a typical year strayed about 21.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.5 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.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.

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