Headline finding
France leads the world for most-visited countries at 100M international arrivals (millions).
The full top 25: Most-visited countries
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 France 100M
- 2 Spain 85.2M
- 3 United States 66.5M
- 4 Italy 57.2M
- 5 Turkey 55.2M
- 6 Mexico 42.2M
- 7 United Kingdom 37.2M
- 8 Germany 34.8M
- 9 Greece 32.7M
- 10 Austria 30.2M
- 11 Portugal 26.5M
- 12 China 35.5M
- 13 Netherlands 20.3M
- 14 Canada 18.3M
- 15 Poland 17.5M
- 16 Hong Kong 26.8M
- 17 Saudi Arabia 27.0M
- 18 UAE 22.7M
- 19 Japan 25.1M
- 20 Hungary 15.0M
- 21 Czech Republic 14.3M
- 22 Thailand 28.0M
- 23 Malaysia 20.1M
- 24 Russia 12.0M
- 25 South Korea 11.0M
What the numbers show
France's lead at the top of this ranking is 17.4% above the second-place country — comfortable but not insurmountable — a credible challenger could plausibly close that gap over a decade.
The five countries leading the table — France, Spain, United States, Italy, Turkey — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with South Korea anchoring the list at 11.0M.
Figures are drawn from UNWTO 2023. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- international arrivals (millions)
- Source
- UNWTO 2023
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for most-visited countries?
France leads with 100M international arrivals (millions). Spain is second at 85.2M, with United States in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the most-visited countries ranking?
The figures come from UNWTO 2023. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the most-visited countries figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.