World Bank Data · 129 countries
Countries With Most International Tourism
International tourism is one of the world's largest industries, generating over $1 trillion annually and supporting millions of jobs. France leads the world in tourist arrivals, drawn by Paris, the French Riviera, wine country, and a rich cultural heritage. Spain, the United States, Italy, and Turkey round out the top five. Tourism is a critical economic driver for many developing nations, providing foreign exchange, employment, and infrastructure investment. However, overtourism has become a growing concern in cities like Venice, Barcelona, and Amsterdam, where the volume of visitors strains infrastructure, raises housing costs, and degrades the experience for residents and tourists alike.
Key Findings
- 1France leads with a international tourist arrivals of 117,109,000, followed by Mexico (51,128,000) and United States (45,037,000).
- 2American Samoa ranks last at 900, while France leads at 117,109,000.
- 3The national median across all states is 869,000 (Oman at the midpoint).
- 4The top 10 states are: France, Mexico, United States, Italy, Spain, Hungary, China, Croatia, Turkiye, Denmark.
Full Ranking: Countries With Most International Tourism
Source: Census ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates
| # | Country | Tourist Arrivals | GDP/Capita | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 639,000 | $2,195 | 16,340,822 |
| 2 | Zambia | 502,000 | $1,331 | 20,723,965 |
| 3 | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 8,612,000 | — | 104,917 |
| 4 | Viet Nam | 3,837,000 | $4,323 | 100,352,192 |
| 5 | Vanuatu | 82,400 | $3,483 | 320,409 |
| 6 | United States | 45,037,000 | $81,032 | 336,806,231 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 11,101,000 | $49,944 | 68,492,000 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | 8,084,000 | $49,851 | 10,483,751 |
| 9 | Ukraine | 3,382,000 | $5,140 | 37,732,836 |
| 10 | Uganda | 473,000 | $1,002 | 48,656,601 |
| 11 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 370,400 | $35,470 | 46,198 |
| 12 | Turkiye | 15,971,000 | $13,375 | 85,325,965 |
| 13 | Tunisia | 2,012,000 | $3,951 | 12,200,431 |
| 14 | Trinidad and Tobago | 141,000 | $18,308 | 1,367,510 |
| 15 | Togo | 482,000 | $1,055 | 9,304,337 |
| 16 | Sweden | 1,957,000 | $54,950 | 10,536,632 |
| 17 | St. Lucia | 432,500 | $13,555 | 179,285 |
| 18 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 301,400 | $22,577 | 46,758 |
| 19 | Sri Lanka | 540,000 | $3,799 | 22,037,000 |
| 20 | Spain | 36,410,000 | $33,493 | 48,352,528 |
| 21 | South Africa | 3,886,600.1 | $6,034 | 63,212,384 |
| 22 | Solomon Islands | 4,400 | $1,883 | 800,005 |
| 23 | Slovenia | 1,216,000 | $32,660 | 2,120,461 |
| 24 | Singapore | 2,742,000 | $85,412 | 5,917,648 |
| 25 | Seychelles | 124,500 | $18,263 | 119,773 |
| 26 | Serbia | 446,000 | $12,282 | 6,623,183 |
| 27 | Samoa | 23,900 | $4,823 | 216,663 |
| 28 | Russian Federation | 6,359,000 | $14,159 | 143,826,130 |
| 29 | Romania | 5,023,000 | $18,244 | 19,061,062 |
| 30 | Qatar | 582,000 | $81,817 | 2,656,032 |
| 31 | Puerto Rico (US) | 3,882,000 | $36,981 | 3,203,792 |
| 32 | Portugal | 4,208,000 | $27,635 | 10,578,174 |
| 33 | Philippines | 1,483,000 | $3,804 | 114,891,199 |
| 34 | Peru | 1,119,000 | $7,888 | 33,845,617 |
| 35 | Paraguay | 1,077,000 | $6,300 | 6,844,146 |
| 36 | Papua New Guinea | 39,000 | $2,966 | 10,389,635 |
| 37 | Panama | 647,000 | $18,797 | 4,458,759 |
| 38 | Palau | 18,400 | $15,611 | 17,727 |
| 39 | Oman | 869,000 | $21,028 | 5,049,269 |
| 40 | Norway | 1,397,000 | $87,497 | 5,519,601 |
| 41 | North Macedonia | 118,000 | $8,674 | 1,827,816 |
| 42 | Niger | 85,000 | $638.34 | 26,159,867 |
| 43 | Nicaragua | 474,000 | $2,609 | 6,823,613 |
| 44 | New Zealand | 996,000 | $49,076 | 5,200,000 |
| 45 | New Caledonia | 31,000 | $33,702 | 289,870 |
| 46 | Netherlands | 7,265,000 | $63,516 | 17,877,117 |
| 47 | Nepal | 230,000 | $1,382 | 29,694,614 |
| 48 | Namibia | 187,100 | $4,188 | 2,963,095 |
| 49 | Myanmar | 903,000 | $1,233 | 54,133,798 |
| 50 | Morocco | 2,802,000 | $3,814 | 37,712,505 |
| 51 | Montenegro | 351,000 | $12,260 | 623,529 |
| 52 | Mongolia | 66,900 | $5,839 | 3,481,145 |
| 53 | Monaco | 159,000 | $256,800 | 38,956 |
| 54 | Moldova | 29,000 | $6,800 | 2,457,783 |
| 55 | Mexico | 51,128,000 | $13,861 | 129,739,759 |
| 56 | Mauritius | 316,000 | $11,270 | 1,248,647 |
| 57 | Malta | 718,000 | $40,906 | 552,747 |
| 58 | Maldives | 555,000 | $12,588 | 525,994 |
| 59 | Malaysia | 4,333,000 | $11,386 | 35,126,298 |
| 60 | Madagascar | 87,100 | $508.72 | 31,195,932 |
| 61 | Luxembourg | 525,000 | $133,231 | 666,430 |
| 62 | Lithuania | 2,284,000 | $27,786 | 2,871,585 |
| 63 | Liechtenstein | 58,400 | $206,781 | 39,846 |
| 64 | Latvia | 3,204,000 | $22,710 | 1,883,710 |
| 65 | Lao PDR | 886,400 | $2,067 | 7,664,993 |
| 66 | Kuwait | 2,161,000 | $34,076 | 4,853,420 |
| 67 | Korea, Rep. | 2,519,000 | $35,674 | 51,712,619 |
| 68 | Kazakhstan | 2,035,000 | $12,879 | 20,330,104 |
| 69 | Jordan | 1,240,000 | $4,466 | 11,439,213 |
| 70 | Japan | 4,115,799.8 | $33,836 | 124,516,650 |
| 71 | Jamaica | 1,329,700 | $7,542 | 2,839,786 |
| 72 | Italy | 38,419,000 | $39,277 | 58,984,216 |
| 73 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 1,550,000 | $5,049 | 90,608,707 |
| 74 | Indonesia | 4,053,000 | $4,876 | 281,190,067 |
| 75 | Iceland | 488,000 | $82,139 | 385,663 |
| 76 | Hungary | 31,641,000 | $22,231 | 9,592,186 |
| 77 | Honduras | 669,000 | $3,227 | 10,644,851 |
| 78 | Guyana | 86,400 | $20,474 | 826,353 |
| 79 | Guatemala | 594,000 | $5,758 | 18,124,838 |
| 80 | Guam | 328,000 | — | 166,506 |
| 81 | Grenada | 217,000 | $11,414 | 117,081 |
| 82 | Greece | 7,406,000 | $23,344 | 10,407,351 |
| 83 | Germany | 12,449,000 | $54,777 | 83,287,273 |
| 84 | Georgia | 1,513,000 | $8,284 | 3,715,483 |
| 85 | Gambia, The | 246,000 | $883.02 | 2,697,845 |
| 86 | French Polynesia | 89,400 | $21,832 | 281,118 |
| 87 | France | 117,109,000 | $44,700 | 68,372,286 |
| 88 | Finland | 896,000 | $52,834 | 5,583,911 |
| 89 | Fiji | 168,000 | $5,926 | 924,145 |
| 90 | Ethiopia | 518,000 | $1,056 | 128,691,692 |
| 91 | Eswatini | 345,300 | $3,756 | 1,230,506 |
| 92 | Estonia | 1,695,000 | $30,264 | 1,370,286 |
| 93 | El Salvador | 707,000 | $5,365 | 6,309,624 |
| 94 | Dominican Republic | 2,748,000 | $10,630 | 11,331,265 |
| 95 | Dominica | 140,000 | $9,913 | 66,510 |
| 96 | Denmark | 15,595,000 | $68,044 | 5,946,952 |
| 97 | Cuba | 1,086,000 | — | 11,019,931 |
| 98 | Croatia | 21,608,000 | $22,184 | 3,859,686 |
| 99 | Cote d'Ivoire | 668,000 | $2,592 | 31,165,654 |
| 100 | Costa Rica | 1,146,500 | $16,942 | 5,105,525 |
| 101 | Comoros | 7,000 | $1,560 | 850,387 |
| 102 | Colombia | 1,396,000 | $7,001 | 52,321,152 |
| 103 | China | 30,402,000 | $12,951 | 1,410,710,000 |
| 104 | Chad | 10,400 | $949.33 | 19,319,064 |
| 105 | Cayman Islands | 660,000 | $99,144 | 73,038 |
| 106 | Cambodia | 1,306,000 | $2,430 | 17,423,880 |
| 107 | Cabo Verde | 180,000 | $4,795 | 522,331 |
| 108 | Burkina Faso | 67,000 | $873.48 | 23,025,776 |
| 109 | Bulgaria | 4,973,000 | $15,853 | 6,446,596 |
| 110 | Brunei Darussalam | 1,071,000 | $32,891 | 458,949 |
| 111 | British Virgin Islands | 83,000 | — | 38,985 |
| 112 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 197,000 | $8,663 | 3,185,073 |
| 113 | Bolivia | 323,300 | $4,275 | 12,244,159 |
| 114 | Bhutan | 29,800 | $3,831 | 786,385 |
| 115 | Bermuda | 51,400 | $132,604 | 64,698 |
| 116 | Belize | 487,000 | $7,425 | 411,106 |
| 117 | Belgium | 2,584,000 | $55,291 | 11,779,946 |
| 118 | Belarus | 3,598,000 | $7,897 | 9,178,298 |
| 119 | Bahrain | 1,909,000 | $29,290 | 1,577,059 |
| 120 | Bahamas, The | 1,794,500 | $38,232 | 399,440 |
| 121 | Azerbaijan | 796,000 | $7,133 | 10,153,958 |
| 122 | Austria | 15,091,000 | $56,580 | 9,131,761 |
| 123 | Australia | 1,828,000 | $65,058 | 26,659,922 |
| 124 | Armenia | 375,000 | $8,159 | 2,964,300 |
| 125 | Antigua and Barbuda | 384,500 | $21,495 | 93,316 |
| 126 | Andorra | 5,207,000 | $46,812 | 80,856 |
| 127 | American Samoa | 900 | — | 47,521 |
| 128 | Algeria | 591,000 | $5,370 | 46,164,219 |
| 129 | Albania | 2,658,000 | $9,731 | 2,414,095 |
Methodology
Rankings are based on American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates from the US Census Bureau. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data. 5-Year estimates offer the most reliable data for state-level comparisons by averaging responses over a 60-month period. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
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Frequently Asked Questions
France has the highest international tourist arrivals at 117,109,000, according to Census ACS 2023 data. Mexico and United States round out the top three.
American Samoa has the lowest international tourist arrivals at 900. Solomon Islands is second-lowest at 4,400.
The median across all 129 states is 869,000. Note that the national median and the state-level median are calculated differently — the state median represents the midpoint when all states are ranked.
This data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates published by the US Census Bureau. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides the most comprehensive demographic data available between decennial censuses.
Rankings are based on the latest available Census ACS data (currently 2023 5-Year estimates). The Census Bureau releases new ACS data annually, typically in September. Our data was last updated on April 12, 2026.
Rankings are based on American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-Year estimates from the US Census Bureau. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data. 5-Year estimates offer the most reliable data for state-level comparisons by averaging responses over a 60-month period. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.