The tourism sector GDP share in Northern Africa was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 2.7 percentage points. The share is estimated to amount to 10.13 percent in 2028. While the share was forecast to increase significant in the next years, the increase will slow down in the future.Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in relation to the gross domestic product of the country or region at hand.The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the tourism sector GDP share in countries or regions like Western Africa and Eastern Africa.

In 2020, 24 percent of international tourists arriving in Cote d'Ivoire were from France. The European country led in number of tourist arrivals in the West African destination. Other main nationalities visiting Cote d'Ivoire were from the neighboring Guinea (13 percent of arrivals) and Burkina Faso (nine percent). Overall, the country received around two million international tourists in 2019.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Northern Africa was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 9.6 million arrivals (+27.67 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the arrivals is estimated to reach 44.31 million arrivals and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the number of inbound international tourists. According to World Bank this refers to tourists travelling to a country which is not their usual residence, whereby the main purpose is not work related and the planned visitation period does not exceed 12 months. The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of international tourist arrivals in countries like Western Africa and Eastern Africa.

The citizens of Seychelles had the most powerful passports in Africa as of May 2024. The country received a visa-free score of 156 points. Mauritius and South Africa followed with a score of 151 and 108, respectively. In contrast, Libyan and Somalian citizens had the weakest passports on the continent. Africa and visa-free travel In 2021, Seychelles, Benin, and The Gambia emerged as the Africa Visa Openness Index leaders by providing visa-free access to visitors from all African countries. These nations demonstrated the most inclusive policies within the continent. However, the most visited destinations among travelers did not necessarily equate to visa-free travel. Furthermore, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia were Africa's most popular travel destinations between 2019 and 2021. Most desirable passports based on visa-free travel Japan and Singapore held the top spots for the strongest passports in the world, providing visa-free entry to 192 countries. The official travel documents of German and South Korean citizens followed closely. However, based on a survey conducted in 2015 about the most sought-after additional nationalities, the British nationality held the top spot, with almost 20.4 percent of the respondents reporting that as a preference next to their own. Notably, the cost of passports does not directly reflect their ranking. The price of a passport doesn't always determine its power. While some of the world's most expensive passports are indeed powerful, there are weaker passports that can be more expensive in terms of the number of working hours required to afford them. For instance, in Mexico, a person needs to work 266 hours to be able to purchase a passport. 

South Korea was the country located in the Asian continent that accounted for the largest number of international tourists in Spain in 2023, with more than *** thousand visitors. Notably, the number of South Korean travelers to Spain nearly tripled in 2023 over the previous year. Asian travelers in the Netherlands In addition to the Mediterranean country of Spain, the West European country of Netherlands was also frequently visited by Asian tourists. There were reportedly more than *** million travelers from Asia in the Netherlands in the year prior to the pandemic. By contrast, the number of inbound tourists from Asia to the Netherlands decreased by about ** percent in 2020. Focusing on Dutch provinces, Noord-Holland was the region in the Netherlands with the most hotel guests from Asia in 2021. Popular travel destinations in Spain The Balearic Islands were the most popular Spanish travel destination for international tourists in 2021. The Balearic Islands, which include Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, welcomed about half a million more tourists than Catalonia in that year. Mallorca, which is the largest of the Balearic Islands, was also the leading beach destination in Spain based on the number of overnight tourists in hotels in 2021. The island ranked above Barcelona when comparing overnight stays in hotels that year.

Seychelles had the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Africa as of 2024. The value amounted to 21,630 U.S. dollars. Mauritius followed with around 12,330 U.S. dollars, whereas Gabon registered 8,840 U.S. dollars. GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population, meaning that some of the largest economies are not ranked within the leading ten. Impact of COVID-19 on North Africa’s GDP When looking at the GDP growth rate in Africa in 2024, Libya had the largest estimated growth in Northern Africa, a value of 7.8 percent compared to the previous year. Niger and Senegal were at the top of the list with rates of 10.4 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on the economy was severe. The growth of the North African real GDP was estimated at minus 1.1 percent in 2020. However, estimations for 2022 looked much brighter, as it was set that the region would see a GDP growth of six percent, compared to four percent in 2021.
Contribution of Tourism Various countries in Africa are dependent on tourism, contributing to the economy. In 2023, travel and tourism were estimated to contribute 182.6 billion U.S. dollars, a clear increase from 96.5 in 2020 following COVID-19. As of 2024, South Africa, Mauritius, and Egypt led tourism in the continent according to the Travel & Tourism Development Index.

In 2019, hotels were the most preferred accommodation for international tourists when visiting Thailand, with approximately ***** million tourists staying in hotels. Apartments were also preferred among international tourists. In that same year, almost ** million tourists visited Thailand. This implies possible expansions and opportunities in the accommodation and hotel industry.

Thailand’s hotel industry Because of the growing number of visitors in Thailand, there have been great investments in the hotel industry. Accor, InterContinental, Starwood and Marriot are the major multinational hotel groups in Thailand while the well-known domestically grown hotel groups are Centara, Dusit International, Minor International and the Erawan group. In addition, there has been a recent boom in the budget hotel industry, with more investments focusing on the middle-scale and budget hotel groups. An example can be seen from the increase in the number of hotel rooms for economy hotels under Erawan group.

Customers in the hotel industry Visitors to Thailand were mainly from the neighboring countries and East Asia. However, there were also a large share of visitors from western countries, the Middle East, and Africa. Among all of the regions, visitors from Europe had the highest average length of stay when staying in a hotel in Thailand. In 2019, international visitors were the majority of accommodation guests in the southern region of Thailand which was not surprising since there are globally known tourist destinations there, such as Phuket and Koh Samui.

As of April 2025, South Africa's GDP was estimated at over 410 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in Africa. Egypt followed, with a GDP worth around 347 billion U.S. dollars, and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. Algeria ranked third, with nearly 269 billion U.S. dollars. These African economies are among some of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Dependency on oil For some African countries, the oil industry represents an enormous source of income. In Nigeria, oil generates over five percent of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2023. However, economies such as the Libyan, Algerian, or Angolan are even much more dependent on the oil sector. In Libya, for instance, oil rents account for over 40 percent of the GDP. Indeed, Libya is one of the economies most dependent on oil worldwide. Similarly, oil represents for some of Africa’s largest economies a substantial source of export value. The giants do not make the ranking Most of Africa’s largest economies do not appear in the leading ten African countries for GDP per capita. The GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population. Therefore, a populated country with a low total GDP will have a low GDP per capita, while a small rich nation has a high GDP per capita. For instance, South Africa has Africa’s highest GDP, but also counts the sixth-largest population, so wealth has to be divided into its big population. The GDP per capita also indicates how a country’s wealth reaches each of its citizens. In Africa, Seychelles has the greatest GDP per capita.

Which county has the most Facebook users? There are more than 383 million Facebook users in India alone, making it the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. To put this into context, if India’s Facebook audience were a country, then it would be ranked third in terms of largest population worldwide. Apart from India, there are several other markets with more than 100 million Facebook users each: The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil with 196.9 million, 122.3 million, and 111.65 million Facebook users respectively. Facebook – the most used social media Meta, the company that was previously called Facebook, owns four of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. As of the third quarter of 2021, there were around 3.5 billion cumulative monthly users of the company’s products worldwide. With around 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media worldwide. With an audience of this scale, it is no surprise that the vast majority of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising. Facebook usage by device As of July 2021, it was found that 98.5 percent of active users accessed their Facebook account from mobile devices. In fact, almost 81.8 percent of Facebook audiences worldwide access the platform only via mobile phone. Facebook is not only available through mobile browser as the company has published several mobile apps for users to access their products and services. As of the third quarter 2021, the four core Meta products were leading the ranking of most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp amassing approximately six billion downloads.

In 2024, Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) ranked first in the crime index among African cities, with a rating of roughly ** index points. The six most dangerous areas on the continent were South African cities. The index estimates the overall level of crime in a specific territory. According to the score, crime levels are classified as very high (over 80), high (60-80), moderate (40-60), low (20-40), and very low (below 20). South Africa’s crime situation According to the crime index ranking, ************ was the most dangerous country in Africa in 2023, followed by ***************** and ******. Murder and organized crime are particularly widespread in South Africa. In 2023, the country had one of the highest murder rates globally, registering around ** homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Moreover, South Africa’s crime scene is also characterized by the presence of organized criminal activities, for which the country ranked third in Africa. Reflecting these high levels of crime, a survey conducted in 2023 showed that around ** percent of South Africans were worried about crime and violence in the country. Crime risks in Africa The African continent hosts some of the most dangerous places worldwide. In 2023, *********** and the ******************************** were the least peaceful countries in Africa, according to the Global Peace Index. Worldwide, they ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria. Terrorism is a leading type of crime perpetrated in Africa. Home to Boko Aram, Nigeria is among the countries with the highest number of terrorism-related deaths globally. Furthermore, Burkina Faso had the highest number of fatalities in the world. Human trafficking is also widespread, predominantly in West Africa. The most common forms of exploitation of victims of trafficking in persons are forced labor and sexual exploitation.