Countries by Tourist Arrivals

What Tourist Arrivals Measures

Tourist Arrivals is a comparative indicator tracked across countries by the World Bank. It provides a quantitative basis for cross-national comparison, enabling researchers and policymakers to benchmark national performance on this dimension against global peers.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Tourist Arrivals across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 900 (American Samoa) to 117.11 million (France) — a 130.1K-fold difference across 132 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 14 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (886.4K) is far more representative than the mean (4.69 million).

Notable Outliers

France stands far above the rest, with a value 129% higher than second-place Mexico. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.

Continental Leaders

Europe

France

117.11 million

North America

Mexico

51.13 million

Asia

China

30.40 million

Africa

South Africa

3.89 million

Oceania

Australia

1.83 million

South America

Peru

1.12 million