Arrivals of tourists from abroad in Nigeria

Nigeria: Arrivals of tourists from abroad was 538,927 arrivals in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
538,927 arrivals
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
121st
of 203 countries
All-time high
2.00 million arrivals
in 2019
All-time low
486,000 arrivals
in 2012
Years of data
29
1995–2024

Arrivals of tourists from abroad in Nigeria, 1995–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M1995200920241995: 656.0k arrivals1996: 822.0k arrivals1997: 611.0k arrivals1998: 739.0k arrivals1999: 776.0k arrivals2000: 813.0k arrivals2001: 850.0k arrivals2002: 887.0k arrivals2003: 924.0k arrivals2004: 962.0k arrivals2005: 1.0M arrivals2006: 1.1M arrivals2007: 1.2M arrivals2008: 1.3M arrivals2009: 1.4M arrivals2010: 1.6M arrivals2011: 715.0k arrivals2012: 486.0k arrivals2013: 600.0k arrivals2015: 1.3M arrivals2016: 1.9M arrivals2017: 1.9M arrivals2018: 2.0M arrivals2019: 2.0M arrivals2020: 502.0k arrivals2021: 518.0k arrivals2022: 528.4k arrivals2023: 528.4k arrivals2024: 538.9k arrivals

Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in arrivals.

Analysis

Nigeria recorded 538,927 arrivals for arrivals of tourists from abroad in 2024.

That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arrivals of tourists from abroad in Nigeria peaked at 2.00 million arrivals in 2019 and was at its lowest, 486,000 arrivals, in 2012.

Nigeria ranks 121st of 203 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 720,800 arrivals 611,000 arrivals 822,000 arrivals 5
2000s 1.05 million arrivals 813,000 arrivals 1.41 million arrivals 10
2010s 1.38 million arrivals 486,000 arrivals 2.00 million arrivals 9
2020s 523,129 arrivals 502,000 arrivals 538,927 arrivals 5

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 118 Gambia 570,000 arrivals compare
  2. 120 Zambia 554,000 arrivals compare
  3. 122 Ethiopia 536,000 arrivals compare
  4. 123 Uganda 513,000 arrivals compare
  5. 124 Thailand 511,000 arrivals compare

See the full ranking of 203 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is arrivals of tourists from abroad in Nigeria?
Arrivals of tourists from abroad in Nigeria was 538,927 arrivals in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest arrivals of tourists from abroad recorded in Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 2.00 million arrivals in 2019.
What is the lowest arrivals of tourists from abroad recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 486,000 arrivals in 2012.
How does Nigeria rank for arrivals of tourists from abroad?
Nigeria ranks 121st out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
Is arrivals of tourists from abroad rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria data come from?
The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arrivals of tourists from abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Arrivals of tourists from abroad
Unit
arrivals
Source
UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
203 places, 5,187 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

Number of trips by visitors who arrive from abroad and stay overnight.