Spending by international visitors while visiting a country in South Korea

South Korea: Spending by international visitors while visiting a country was 22.00 billion current US$ in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
22.00 billion current US$
Change on year
up 7.2%
World rank
27th
of 203 countries
All-time high
25.46 billion current US$
in 2019
All-time low
6.32 billion current US$
in 1997
Years of data
30
1995–2024

Spending by international visitors while visiting a country in South Korea, 1995–2024

5.0B10.0B15.0B20.0B25.0B1995200920241995: 6.7B current US$1996: 6.3B current US$1997: 6.3B current US$1998: 8.3B current US$1999: 8.3B current US$2000: 8.5B current US$2001: 7.9B current US$2002: 7.6B current US$2003: 7.0B current US$2004: 8.2B current US$2005: 8.3B current US$2006: 8.4B current US$2007: 9.3B current US$2008: 13.4B current US$2009: 13.3B current US$2010: 14.3B current US$2011: 17.3B current US$2012: 18.7B current US$2013: 19.5B current US$2014: 22.4B current US$2015: 18.7B current US$2016: 20.9B current US$2017: 17.2B current US$2018: 23.1B current US$2019: 25.5B current US$2020: 11.5B current US$2021: 11.4B current US$2022: 15.0B current US$2023: 20.5B current US$2024: 22.0B current US$

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

Analysis

South Korea recorded 22.00 billion current US$ for spending by international visitors while visiting a country in 2024.

The figure is up 7.2% on the previous year and down 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, spending by international visitors while visiting a country in South Korea peaked at 25.46 billion current US$ in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.32 billion current US$, in 1997.

That places South Korea 27th out of 203 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.19 billion current US$ 6.32 billion current US$ 8.34 billion current US$ 5
2000s 9.20 billion current US$ 7.00 billion current US$ 13.44 billion current US$ 10
2010s 19.76 billion current US$ 14.31 billion current US$ 25.46 billion current US$ 10
2020s 16.09 billion current US$ 11.43 billion current US$ 22.00 billion current US$ 5

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 24 Qatar 23.60 billion current US$ compare
  2. 25 Netherlands 22.56 billion current US$ compare
  3. 28 Ireland 18.15 billion current US$ compare
  4. 29 Indonesia 17.75 billion current US$ compare
  5. 30 Egypt 17.17 billion current US$ compare

See the full ranking of 203 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is spending by international visitors while visiting a country in South Korea?
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country in South Korea was 22.00 billion current US$ in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest spending by international visitors while visiting a country recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 25.46 billion current US$ in 2019.
What is the lowest spending by international visitors while visiting a country recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 6.32 billion current US$ in 1997.
How does South Korea rank for spending by international visitors while visiting a country?
South Korea ranks 27th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
Is spending by international visitors while visiting a country rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by international visitors while visiting a country. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country
Unit
current US$
Source
UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
203 places, 4,579 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

Money received by the destination country from foreign visitors, including spending on accommodation, food, local transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to the country’s own airlines. The data is expressed in current US dollars and is not adjusted for inflation or differences in living costs between countries.