BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 29. During the period from January to October 2023, a total of 1.7 million foreigners and stateless persons from 186 countries visited Azerbaijan, an increase of 30.3 % year on year, the State Statistics Committee of the country said, Trend reports.
The committee noted that out of the overall number of foreign visitors, 30.7 percent came from Russia, 17.9 percent from Türkiye, 7.7 percent from Iran, 5.1 percent from India, 4.8 percent from Georgia, 4.1 percent from Saudi Arabia, 2.8 percent from Kazakhstan, and 2.5 percent from Pakistan.
The UAE comprised 1.9 percent of the visitors, followed by Uzbekistan (1.8 percent), Israel (1.6 percent), Ukraine and Kuwait (1.5 percent), Belarus (1.4 percent), Turkmenistan and China (1.2 percent), and the UK (1.1 percent), while other countries accounted for 11.2 percent.
Besides, 69.9 percent of arrivals were men, and 30.1 percent were women.
From January through October 2023, compared to the first 10 months of 2022, the number of arrivals from China increased by 7.3 times: South Korea: 3.5 times; Turkmenistan: 2.7 times; Poland and India: two times; Kazakhstan: 1.9 times; Tajikistan and Egypt: 1.8 times; Bahrain and the Philippines: 1.7 times.
Additionally, in the reporting period, arrivals from Italy, Spain, Moldova, Belarus, and Uzbekistan increased by 1.6 times: Russia: 45.8 percent, Canada: 42.7 percent, the US: 39.4 percent, Georgia: 30.5 percent, the Netherlands: 29.4 percent, Kuwait: 27.3 percent, Israel: 27.2 percent, France: 26.9 percent, the UK: 25.7 percent, Germany: 22 percent, Türkiye - 20.3 percent, Ukraine: 11.1 percent, and the UAE: 10 percent.
Meanwhile, arrivals from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased year-on-year by 49.6 percent (reaching 692,600 people), from the European Union by 41.9 percent (to 89,600 people), and from the Gulf countries by 7.4 percent (to 284,700 people).
Of the foreigners and stateless persons arriving in Azerbaijan, 72.1 percent used air transport, 26.6 percent used railways and roads, and 1.3 percent used maritime transport.
The total number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad from January through October this year grew by 27.1 percent to 1.5 million people compared to the same period in 2022.
The number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling to Russia increased by 1.5 times, followed by Georgia (31.6 percent), Türkiye (20.7 percent), and Iran (13.9 percent).
Türkiye was the most visited destination by Azerbaijani citizens (44.3 percent), followed by Russia (21.3 percent), Georgia (nine percent), Iran (7.5 percent), and other countries (17.9 percent). Men constituted 65.2 percent and women 34.8 percent of travelers.
Moreover, from January through October 2023, 68.2 percent of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad used air transport, 29.3 percent used railways and roads, and 2.5 percent used maritime transport, the State Statistics Committee added.
In 2022, over 1.6 million foreigners and stateless persons from 178 countries visited Azerbaijan, which was twice the figure for 2021.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel