Research presented at the Global Wellness Summit in Singapore recently revealed that the physical activity economy is now valued at $828.2 billion globally. The physical activity economy includes sports and active recreation, fitness, and mindful movement core segments, as well as the markets of equipment and supplies, apparel and footwear, and technology. With this new calculation, the wellness global market has risen to $4.5 trillion.
The research report, Move To Be Well: The Global Economy of Physical Activity, was released by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a lead researcher for the global wellness industry. With details of GWI’s major 2019 findings, the 180-page report is the most data-packed study that GWI has released. It covers consumer spending within all six physical activity markets on global, regional, and national levels, as well as participation rates for 150 nations. The report also includes new trends, market growth projections, and insight into movement-related public and private sector initiatives.
Key findings include:
- Asia-Pacific is predicted to become the largest market, surpassing North America. This means Asia-Pacific will account for 40 percent of all global growth through 2023.
- Currently, the U.S. recreational physical activity market is worth $264.6 billion, with China coming in second at $109.3 billion. The sports and active recreation category accounts for two-thirds of all recreational physical activity spending with the most diverse, affordable, and common activities globally. Of the world’s population, 33 percent regularly participate in sports and active recreation, spending an average of $90 annually.
- Mindful movement will be the number one section of growth from 2018-2023, according to GWI predictions, with the market increasing from $29 billion to $52 billion (12 percent annually). The participation in mindful movement itself is skyrocketing, with 3.8 percent of the world’s population participating in yoga, tai chi and qigong, Pilates, barre, and other mindful movement modalities, spending an average of $101 per year.
- The second-fastest-growing market, technology, will likely increase from $26.3 billion to $39.8 billion by 2023 (8.6 percent annually). Innovative fitness technology, including wearables and trackers, on-demand fitness, and fitness apps, are largely contributing to this rate of growth.
In total, GWI predicts that the physical activity economy will rise above $1.1 trillion by 2023. Get all the details in the entire report, found here.
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