Colombia now earns more from visitors than Brazil
International visitor spending (travel receipts), nominal US$ billion, Colombia against South America's next three, 2012–2024.
- 1. Central banks now hold more gold than Treasuries or euros
- 2. China now pays the world mostly in yuan
- 3. Migrants now send home four times all foreign aid
- 4. Tether now holds more US Treasuries than the UAE
- 5. Developing countries' interest bill has nearly tripled since 2010
- 6. Poles edge past the Japanese in income per person
- 7. In dollars, Nigeria's economy has more than halved since 2014
- 8. Argentina's monthly inflation fell from 25.5% to 1.9%
- 9. Guyana now produces more per person than America
- 10. Ukraine received four times the aid of any other country
- 11. Singapore now draws twice as much foreign investment as China
- 12. 22 governments now owe more than a year's national output
- 13. Money sent home to Guatemala nearly quadrupled in ten years
- 14. In purchasing power, Russia's economy is now bigger than Japan's
- 15. Colombians abroad now send home more than foreigners invest
- 16. 72 countries now pay China more than it lends them
- 17. Pakistan rose to first place in Chinese energy finance
- 18. Money sent home now tops half of Tajikistan's economy
- 19. Pakistan passed India in tech's share of services exports
- 20. Mongolia leapt from 2% to 58% paying utilities by phone
- 21. Smaller currencies' share of world reserves has more than doubled
- 22. Phone savers now outnumber bank savers in 32 countries
- 23. Uzbekistan now receives more than twice Ukraine's remittances
- 24. Fewer countries owe China more than the World Bank
- 25. Poorer countries now owe Saudi Arabia more than America
- 26. Cambodia's bank lending grew from 8% to 121% of GDP
- 27. Egypt tripled its ATMs per adult in ten years
- 28. Bank branches are past their peak in most countries
- 29. Guinea rose from 17th to second for investment in Africa
- 30. Navoi doubled its share of Uzbekistan's economy in ten years
- 31. Turkmenistan has paid back almost all it owed China
- 32. Foreign debt payments now top foreign investment in 87 countries
- 33. Gulf governments now owe 13% of international government bonds
- 34. Sabah and Sarawak's share of Malaysia's economy keeps shrinking
- 35. Venezuela flipped from sending money abroad to receiving it
- 36. China holds most government-to-government loans in 36 countries
- 37. South Asia nearly doubled its share of the world economy
- 38. Colombia now earns more from visitors than Brazil
- 39. 26 countries produce less per person than in 2013
- 40. India and Mexico got only a third of new remittances
- 41. Fewer Mexicans live abroad, yet Mexico receives far more money
- 42. Kenyans abroad send home more than Kenya receives in aid
Travel receipts of Colombia and Brazil in 2024: Colombia earns 17% more.
The year Colombia passed Brazil (6.2 bn vs 5.0 bn). Brazil had led in every year from 2012 to 2021, and Colombia has stayed ahead since.
Colombia's receipts from 2015 to 2024, against +26% for Brazil and +1% for Argentina. Colombia leads the nine other South American countries reporting 2024.
the numbers & method
| Year | Colombia (bn) | Brazil (bn) | Argentina (bn) | Peru (bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.5 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 2.4 |
| 2013 | 3.6 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| 2014 | 3.8 | 6.8 | 5.0 | 3.1 |
| 2015 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 3.3 |
| 2016 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 3.6 |
| 2019 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 3.7 |
| 2020 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 |
| 2021 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| 2022 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.2 |
| 2023 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 5.5 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 8.6 | 7.3 | 5.0 | 3.7 |
Claim types Fact
UN Tourism, Tourism Statistics Database, inbound tourism expenditure, balance-of-payments travel item (visitors), million US dollars at nominal values, as reported to UN Tourism by each country (file UN_Tourism_inbound_expenditure_12_2025.xlsx, bulk data download 05/2026); read from UN Tourism via the progrss vault (§4.11; untourism passes value_checks, 6 matches, no mismatch). US$ million, Colombia / Brazil / Argentina / Peru: 2012 3,460 / 6,378 / 5,014 / 2,443; 2015 4,245 / 5,844 / 4,927 / 3,309; 2019 5,682 / 5,995 / 5,241 / 3,738; 2022 6,223 / 4,952 / 3,474 / 2,226; 2023 7,557 / 6,907 / 5,486 / 2,765; 2024 8,587 / 7,341 / 4,959 / 3,676. Derived: +102% (Colombia 2015 to 2024), +26% (Brazil), +1% (Argentina); 8,587 / 7,341 = 1.17. 2024 values for the other South American countries: Chile 3,231; Uruguay 2,189; Ecuador 1,778; Paraguay 758; Bolivia 740; Suriname 36 (Venezuela, Guyana not reported for 2024). Receipts are what visitors spend in the country (travel item of the balance of payments: tourism plus other short stays such as study and treatment); they are nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation or exchange-rate moves (Argentina's 2024 figure is in nominal dollars). 2020 and 2021 are COVID years and appear on the line only. The 2024 UN Tourism release covers about 120 countries; Colombia and Brazil both report. Licence: UN Tourism data are for plates only, not for paid packs. Claim type: Fact (country-reported statistics). 2024 values are as reported to UN Tourism in its latest bulk file and may be revised.
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