Uganda's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) was US$504 million in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 35.71% from US$784 million in 2010 (4.32% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$504 million | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | US$1.04 billion | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | US$784 million | 2010 |
| Highest | US$1.51 billion | 2018 |
| Lowest | US$78 million | 1995 |
| Average since 2011 | US$1.05 billion | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | US$78 million |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Uganda's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 63.6% on 2019 (from US$1.39 billion to US$504 million).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +14.4% and a typical year strayed about 20.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 60% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 63.6% 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 80th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda | US$504 million | 2020 |
| World | US$1.47 trillion | 2019 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | US$28.8 billion | 2019 |
| Low income | US$7.1 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Uganda in the 2020 ranking
- El Salvador — 77th of 158: US$636 million
- Estonia — 78th of 158: US$588 million
- Georgia — 79th of 158: US$542 million
- Lithuania — 81st of 158: US$470 million
- Mauritius — 82nd of 158: US$466 million
- Kazakhstan — 83rd of 158: US$459 million
What this measures
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 26 values
| Year | International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 504,000,000 |
| 2019 | 1,385,000,000 |
| 2018 | 1,506,000,000 |
| 2017 | 941,000,000 |
| 2016 | 1,102,000,000 |
| 2015 | 1,037,000,000 |
| 2014 | 965,000,000 |
| 2013 | 939,000,000 |
| 2012 | 1,135,000,000 |
| 2011 | 960,000,000 |
International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$16 million (2020)
- Benin — US$240 million (2019)
- Botswana — US$211 million (2020)
- Burkina Faso — US$116 million (2019)
- Burundi — US$3.9 million (2018)
- Cabo Verde — US$159 million (2020)
- Cameroon — US$437 million (2020)
- Comoros — US$18 million (2020)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
More private sector & trade data for Uganda
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 49.85% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$18.4 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$12.5 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 35% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 38.06% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 24.54% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 11.15% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Uganda's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)?
- US$504 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 546.15% from US$78 million in 1995 (7.75% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.51 billion in 2018 and the lowest US$78 million in 1995.
- How does Uganda rank?
- 80th highest of 158 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) unusual for Uganda?
- In 2020, Uganda's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) fell 63.6% on 2019 (from US$1.39 billion to US$504 million). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2019), the average change was +14.4% and a typical year strayed about 20.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.9 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.
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