Zimbabwe's international tourism, number of departures was 3.28 million in 2019, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 419.02% from 631,000 in 2009 (17.9% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3.28 million | 2019 |
| Five years earlier | 3.18 million | 2014 |
| Ten years earlier | 631,000 | 2009 |
| Highest | 3.39 million | 2015 |
| Lowest | 69,000 | 1996 |
| Average since 2010 | 2.31 million | 2010–2019 |
| First recorded | 256,000 |
What the numbers say
In 2019, Zimbabwe's international tourism, number of departures rose 43.1% on 2018 (from 2.29 million to 3.28 million).
Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +25.7% and a typical year strayed about 76.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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 309.2% in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 73% in 1996. 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 278,661 a year. A straight line explains 53% 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, Zimbabwe had the 16th 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | 3.28 million | 2019 |
| World | 2.03 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Zimbabwe in the 2019 ranking
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 22 values
| Year | International tourism, number of departures |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 3,275,000 |
| 2018 | 2,288,000 |
| 2017 | 2,768,000 |
| 2016 | 3,192,000 |
| 2015 | 3,393,000 |
| 2014 | 3,182,000 |
| 2013 | 2,946,000 |
| 2012 | 720,000 |
| 2011 | 693,000 |
| 2010 | 650,000 |
| 2009 |
International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies
- Eswatini — 488,000 (2020)
- Mauritius — 65,000 (2020)
- Seychelles — 19,000 (2020)
- Sierra Leone — 122,000 (2019)
- Uganda — 568,000 (2016)
More private sector & trade data for Zimbabwe
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 38.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$10.11 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$9.71 billion (2025)
- Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 139.8 (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 8.71% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 27.05% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 64.24% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zimbabwe's international tourism, number of departures?
- 3.28 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 1,179% from 256,000 in 1995 (11.2% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3.39 million in 2015 and the lowest 69,000 in 1996.
- How does Zimbabwe rank?
- 16th highest of 21 economies with data for 2019.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of departures unusual for Zimbabwe?
- In 2019, Zimbabwe's international tourism, number of departures rose 43.1% on 2018 (from 2.29 million to 3.28 million). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +25.7% and a typical year strayed about 76.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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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