Outbound tourism — Departures in South Africa

South Africa: Outbound tourism — Departures was 4.36 million Persons in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
4.36 million Persons
Change on year
down 3.5%
World rank
33rd
of 42 countries
All-time high
6.08 million Persons
in 2019
All-time low
1.62 million Persons
in 2020
Years of data
17
2008–2024

Outbound tourism — Departures in South Africa, 2008–2024

2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M6.0M2008201620242008: 4.4M Persons2009: 4.4M Persons2010: 5.2M Persons2011: 5.5M Persons2012: 5.0M Persons2013: 5.2M Persons2014: 5.4M Persons2015: 5.4M Persons2016: 5.6M Persons2017: 5.8M Persons2018: 6.0M Persons2019: 6.1M Persons2020: 1.6M Persons2021: 1.6M Persons2022: 3.7M Persons2023: 4.5M Persons2024: 4.4M Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

The most recent figure for outbound tourism — departures in South Africa is 4.36 million Persons, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 19.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, outbound tourism — departures in South Africa peaked at 6.08 million Persons in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.62 million Persons, in 2020.

That places South Africa 33rd out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.43 million Persons 4.42 million Persons 4.43 million Persons 2
2010s 5.50 million Persons 5.03 million Persons 6.08 million Persons 10
2020s 3.17 million Persons 1.62 million Persons 4.52 million Persons 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 30 Greece 6.68 million Persons compare
  2. 31 Colombia 5.57 million Persons compare
  3. 32 Luxembourg 5.46 million Persons compare
  4. 34 Chile 4.18 million Persons compare
  5. 35 Lithuania 4.00 million Persons compare
  6. 36 Peru 3.82 million Persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is outbound tourism — departures in South Africa?
Outbound tourism — departures in South Africa was 4.36 million Persons in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest outbound tourism — departures recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 6.08 million Persons in 2019.
What is the lowest outbound tourism — departures recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 1.62 million Persons in 2020.
How does South Africa rank for outbound tourism — departures?
South Africa ranks 33rd out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
Is outbound tourism — departures rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Outbound tourism — Departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Outbound tourism — Departures in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/outbound-tourism-departures/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/outbound-tourism-departures/south-africa/">Outbound tourism — Departures in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Outbound tourism — Departures
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 695 data points, 2008–2025
Last refreshed

Outbound tourism comprises the activities of residents of a given country travelling to and staying in places outside their country of residence.