North Macedonia recorded a total of 118,000 tourists in 2020, ranking 168th in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of North Macedonia, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.057 tourists per resident, North Macedonia ranked 140th in the world. In Southern Europe, it ranked 14th.
In 2020, North Macedonia generated around 253.00 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 1.8 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 1 percent of all international tourism receipts in Southern Europe.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 2,036 US dollars.
Development of the tourism sector in North Macedonia from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in North Macedonia each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 19.00 million USD, or about 0.40 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 147,000 tourists at that time and roughly 129 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased drastically. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $401.00 million billion, 3.2 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $529 on their vacation in North Macedonia.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $401.00 million billion (2019), only $253.00 million billion remained. This is a 37 percent decrease in North Macedonia.
All data for North Macedonia in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
118,000
253.00 m $
2.0 %
2,144 $
2019
758,000
401.00 m $
3.2 %
529 $
2018
707,000
387.00 m $
3.1 %
547 $
2017
631,000
331.00 m $
2.9 %
525 $
2016
510,000
283.00 m $
2.7 %
555 $
2015
486,000
268.00 m $
2.7 %
551 $
2014
425,000
298.00 m $
2.6 %
701 $
2013
400,000
270.00 m $
2.5 %
675 $
2012
351,000
237.00 m $
2.4 %
675 $
2011
327,000
242.00 m $
2.3 %
740 $
2010
262,000
199.00 m $
2.1 %
760 $
2009
259,000
232.00 m $
2.5 %
896 $
2008
255,000
262.00 m $
2.6 %
1,027 $
2007
230,000
219.00 m $
2.6 %
952 $
2006
202,000
156.00 m $
2.3 %
772 $
2005
197,000
116.00 m $
1.9 %
589 $
2004
165,000
103.00 m $
1.8 %
624 $
2003
158,000
86.00 m $
1.7 %
544 $
2002
123,000
55.00 m $
1.4 %
447 $
2001
99,000
49.00 m $
1.3 %
495 $
2000
224,000
88.00 m $
2.3 %
393 $
1999
181,000
80.00 m $
2.1 %
442 $
1998
157,000
30.00 m $
0.80 %
191 $
1997
121,000
29.00 m $
0.74 %
240 $
1996
136,000
35.00 m $
0.75 %
257 $
1995
147,000
19.00 m $
0.40 %
129 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
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