France
102.0M arrivals
The 20 most visited countries in the world in 2025
France was the most visited country in the world in 2025, with 102.0 million international arrivals, ahead of Spain and the United States of America. Below: all twenty, ranked and mapped, with what each one is known for.
1.52bn
international trips worldwide
+4%
more than in 2024
11/20
of the top 20 in Europe
Spain
96.8M arrivals
United States of America
68.3M arrivals
Map of the most visited countries
The twenty, shaded by arrivals: the darker the green, the more international visitors. 11 of them are in Europe, so Europe gets a closer look.
International arrivals, 2025
Top 20 most visited countries in 2025
Ranked by international tourist arrivals. Each bar is the green the map gives that country, and its length is a share of France’s 102.0 million.
- France102.0M
- Spain96.8M
- United States of America68.3M
Italy65.8M
Turkey63.9M
Mexico47.8M
United Kingdom43.6M
Japan42.7M
Greece38.0M
Germany37.1M
Austria33.5M
Thailand33.0M
Portugal29.9M
Saudi Arabia29.3M
Malaysia26.6M
Netherlands22.3M
Poland21.4M
Vietnam21.2M
Morocco19.8M
Croatia17.6M
Trips, not people
Visit three countries on one trip and each of them counts you once. That’s why small neighbouring countries score so well.
Counted differently
Not every country counts the same way. Some count people at the border, others count hotel guests, and Greece leaves cruise passengers out.
Read it in steps
So don’t read too much into small gaps. A million more can come from how a country counts, not from more people going there.
Sources: UN Tourism (January 2026) and each destination’s own 2025 statistics. Compiled August 2026.
How many of the 20 have you seen?
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Why go: what the top 20 are known for
The ranking measures traffic. Here is what draws the crowds to each country, when to go, and what it is known for.
No. 1
France
Alps to Riviera
Paris brings most first-time visitors, but France holds the top spot through variety: ski resorts in the Alps, the beaches and lavender of Provence, and the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy, all a few hours apart by fast train.
- Best time
- May to June, September
- Known for
- Paris, the Côte d’Azur, the Loire châteaux
No. 2
Spain
Sun and Moorish south
Sun is the main draw: the Costa del Sol, the Balearics and the Canaries, which stay warm all winter. Barcelona, Madrid and the Moorish south around Seville and Granada fill the rest of the trip.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Barcelona, the Alhambra, Mallorca
No. 3
United States of America
Parks and road trips
Many arrivals cross by land from Canada and Mexico. Visitors from further away head for New York, Florida and California, or plan a road trip through the national parks of the West.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- New York, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone
No. 4
Italy
Most World Heritage sites
No country has more UNESCO World Heritage sites. Rome, Florence and Venice anchor most first trips; the Amalfi Coast, the Dolomites and Sicily are why people come back.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Rome, Venice, the Amalfi Coast
No. 5
Turkey
Two continents
Istanbul spans two continents, and its mosques and bazaars are a trip on their own. Further south come the cave hotels and balloon flights of Cappadocia, the ruins of Ephesus and the resorts of the Antalya coast.
- Best time
- April to May, September to October
- Known for
- Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya
No. 6
Mexico
Ruins and two coasts
Most visitors fly to Cancún and the Riviera Maya, with Maya sites such as Chichén Itzá and Tulum within a day trip. Mexico City and Oaxaca draw those who come for the food, which UNESCO lists as cultural heritage.
- Best time
- December to April, the dry season
- Known for
- Cancún, Chichén Itzá, Mexico City
No. 7
United Kingdom
Cities close together
London draws most visitors, with free national museums and West End theatre. Trains reach Bath, York and Edinburgh in a few hours, and the Scottish Highlands begin where the cities stop.
- Best time
- May to September
- Known for
- London, Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands
No. 8
Japan
Temples and bullet trains
Tokyo’s neon and Kyoto’s temples are just over two hours apart by bullet train. Cherry blossom in spring and red leaves in autumn are the busiest weeks of the year; in winter, Hokkaido’s powder snow takes over.
- Best time
- March to May, October to November
- Known for
- Tokyo, Kyoto, Mount Fuji
No. 9
Greece
Six thousand islands
Most visitors come for the islands: about 200 of some 6,000 are inhabited, and Santorini, Mykonos and Crete take the largest share. On the mainland, the Acropolis in Athens and the ruins of Delphi.
- Best time
- May to June, September to October
- Known for
- Santorini, Crete, the Acropolis
No. 10
Germany
Castles and Christmas markets
Berlin, Munich and the castles of Bavaria draw most visitors, with the Rhine valley and the Black Forest close behind. From late November, Christmas markets fill the old towns.
- Best time
- May to September, December for the markets
- Known for
- Berlin, Neuschwanstein, the Christmas markets
No. 11
Austria
Slopes and concert halls
Vienna’s palaces, coffee houses and concert halls fill the year. In winter, the Alps of Tyrol and Salzburg hold some of Europe’s best-served ski areas, and Salzburg’s old town adds Mozart.
- Best time
- December to March for skiing, May to September
- Known for
- Vienna, Salzburg, the Tyrolean Alps
No. 12
Thailand
Islands and street food
Bangkok’s temples and street food come first, then the islands: Phuket and Krabi on the Andaman Sea, Koh Samui in the Gulf. In the north, Chiang Mai is cooler and quieter.
- Best time
- November to March
- Known for
- Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai
No. 13
Portugal
Atlantic edge
Lisbon and Porto are small enough to walk, and the Douro valley that makes port is a short trip upriver. The Algarve has the beaches, Madeira the mild winters.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve
No. 14
Saudi Arabia
Newly open
Tourist visas only began in 2019, and many visitors still come for the pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina. Leisure travellers head for AlUla, where Nabataean tombs are cut into sandstone, and for the Red Sea coast.
- Best time
- November to March
- Known for
- AlUla, Jeddah, the Red Sea coast
No. 15
Malaysia
Rainforest and hawker food
Kuala Lumpur’s towers and Penang’s hawker stalls on the peninsula; across the sea on Borneo, rainforest where wild orangutans still live. Many arrivals come overland from Singapore.
- Best time
- West coast December to April, east coast March to October
- Known for
- Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Borneo
No. 16
Netherlands
Bikes, canals, tulips
Amsterdam’s canals and museums come first, and the rest of the country is a short train or bike ride away: Rotterdam’s architecture, Utrecht, the windmills of Kinderdijk. In spring, the tulip fields.
- Best time
- April to May, June to September
- Known for
- Amsterdam, the tulip fields, Kinderdijk
No. 17
Poland
Old towns, low prices
Kraków’s medieval square survived the war, and Gdańsk was rebuilt to match. Warsaw, the Tatra mountains in the south and prices well below western Europe’s complete the trip.
- Best time
- May to September
- Known for
- Kraków, Gdańsk, the Tatra mountains
No. 18
Vietnam
Karst bays and lanterns
A long, narrow country best travelled from north to south: Ha Long Bay’s limestone islands, lantern-lit Hoi An in the middle, the Mekong Delta at the end. One of the fastest-growing destinations on this list.
- Best time
- February to April
- Known for
- Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City
No. 19
Morocco
Medinas and desert
About three hours’ flight from much of Europe and nothing like it: the walled medinas of Marrakech and Fes, the High Atlas behind them, and the Sahara dunes beyond.
- Best time
- March to May, September to November
- Known for
- Marrakech, Fes, the Sahara
No. 20
Croatia
Adriatic sailing
More than a thousand islands along one narrow coast, so much of the country is seen from a boat. Dubrovnik and Split have the walled old towns; inland, the lakes and waterfalls of Plitvice.
- Best time
- May to June, September
- Known for
- Dubrovnik, Split, the Plitvice Lakes
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Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most.
What is the most visited country in the world?
France, with 102 million international arrivals in 2025 according to Atout France. It has held the top spot for more than thirty years, helped by sitting at the centre of western Europe, where a large share of its arrivals are people passing through towards Spain, Italy or the Mediterranean coast.
How many people travelled internationally in 2025?
About 1.52 billion, some 60 million more than in 2024 and 4% up on the year, according to UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer of January 2026. Europe alone accounted for 793 million of them.
Why is the United States not first, given its size?
Because arrivals reward short international hops. Travelling between European countries means crossing a border every few hundred kilometres, while a comparable journey inside the United States is domestic and never counted. US arrivals also fell 5.5% in 2025, the first decline since 2020.
Can I mark the countries I have visited here?
Not on this page: it is a reference ranking. The interactive world map on the front page is the one that keeps a tally of where you have been.