47 Compelling Yoga Statistics: 2024 Data on Industry Growth & Effects on Health

The practice of yoga has existed since 3000 BCE and traces its roots to the Indus valley civilization in South Asia. Yoga was first introduced in the United States in 1863 but it wasn’t until the 1930s that it slowly became part of American mainstream culture. Moreover, the series of physical and mental exercises that yoga practitioners perform gained even more significance today as people from all around the world deal with the stress and anxiety that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this article, get to know yoga statistics in a wide variety of areas, from market statistics and forecasts to demographics. For those interested in practicing yoga, information about its popularity and health benefits can help you decide if it is the right exercise for you. If you’re an aspiring yoga instructor or business owner, you can gain insights into the industry for you to have a competitive advantage. This can help you figure out the tools you need to equip your business such as club management software.

Yoga Industry Statistics

The popularity of yoga means that there is a sizeable industry behind it. Yoga can tread the areas of both the fitness, health and wellness industry, as well as the mental health industry, all three of which are multi-billion dollar industries. This has led yoga to achieve single-digit growth rates in recent years, as well as sustained growth in the next few years. As a result, yoga industry statistics show that this practice is a constant fixture in the list of global fitness trends, with people turning to yoga apps to do their practice anywhere they want.

• The global yoga market size is forecast to reach $66.2 billion by 2027 and is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% from 2021 to 2027. (AP News, 2020)
• Yoga can be considered a meditative practice that falls within the global mental wellness industry. In 2019, the global mental wellness industry was worth $120.8 billion. (Global Wellness Institute, 2020)
• The pilates and yoga sector achieved 5% growth compared to 2019 figures at 38.99 million businesses. (IBISWorld, 2020)
• There were 40.93 million pilates and yoga studio businesses in the US in 2020. (IBISWorld, 2020)
• The fourth most popular yoga and meditation app worldwide is Yoga Go: Train at Home, which has amassed 1.39 million downloads. In seventh place is Yoga Down Dog, with 82,000 downloads worldwide. (Statista, 2020)
• Yoga was ranked #14 in a list of top 20 worldwide fitness trends for 2020. This ranking is lower compared to its #7 ranking in 2019. (ACSM Health and Fitness Journal, 2019)

Statistics on Yoga Practitioners

According to yoga statistics and demographics, yoga practitioners are most likely to be female than male. They also attend classes more than once a week, with a preference for morning over evening sessions. In terms of budget, they typically spend around $90 for yoga a month.

• The number of yoga practitioners is predicted to reach 350 million by the end of the decade. (AP News, 2020)
• Yoga participants aged 18 to 24 in the US made up 16.9% of total yoga participants. (Sports & Fitness Industry Association, 2020)
• On average, people who practice yoga in the US spend around $90 per month, which translates to $62,640 during their lifetime. (Eventbrite, 2019)
• 44% of Americans who do yoga attend classes two to three times a week. They prefer to do yoga in the morning (34%) versus doing it in the evening (18%). (Eventbrite, 2019)
• On average, yogis in the US are willing to shell out $40 on a special, one-time yoga experience. In addition, 6% are willing to spend over $100 on an unforgettable yoga experience. (Eventbrite, 2019)
• A study revealed that 80.7% of yoga participants were female, 51.9% have a college education, 46.9% did not smoke, and 72.1% reported having moderate alcohol consumption. (Forseth et al., 2019)

Yoga Instructor Statistics

In the US, female yoga instructors outnumber male instructors. Based on data from yoga instructors, location is a factor in how much an instructor can earn. Data shows that pay is highest for yoga instructors in Orlando, Florida. Yoga instructors in the education industry also earn the highest annual salary.

• The average base salary of a yoga instructor in the US is $30.46 per hour. (Indeed, 2021)
• Orlando, Florida topped the list of highest paying cities in the US for yoga instructors. Instructors earned $47.12 per hour in Florida. San Francisco, California came in at second place with $42.84 per hour and New York came in third with earnings of $41.47 per hour. (Indeed, 2021)
• Yoga instructors with a specialization in holistic medicine earn 93.07% more than the average base salary. On the other hand, yoga instructors with time management skills earn 67.05% more than the average base pay. (Indeed, 2021)
• The average yearly salary of yoga instructors in the US is $41,000. The bottom 10% of yoga instructors earn $30,000 per year while those on the top 10% can earn around $56,000. (Zippia, 2020)
• Yoga instructors in the education sector earned more than those in other industries, with an annual salary of $47,000. On the other hand, those in the hospitality industry tend to earn the lowest, at $36,000 per year. (Zippia, 2020)
• The average age for yoga instructors is 37.1 years old. (Zippia, 2020)
• In the US, 78.8% of yoga instructors are women while 16.7% are men. (Zippia, 2020)
• Yoga teacher training can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. (Shades of Yoga, 2019)

Yoga Popularity by Country

Yoga is popular as a form of exercise and stress relief for people all around the world, according to several studies on yoga popularity by country. In the US, people do yoga for stress relief while in the United Kingdom, they do it to achieve general wellness. In China, a study indicates that yoga is one of the sports of choice for affluent people. During the pandemic, it is interesting to note that the rise in yoga influencers on Instagram was most high in Brazil and European countries.

North and Latin America

• Adults in the US aged 18 to 29 said they are “somewhat interested” in learning yoga or meditation through a video call or virtual class. (Morning Consult, 2020)
• More females in the US (26%) said that they are “somewhat interested” in learning yoga or meditation through a video call or virtual class compared to males (15%). (Morning Consult, 2020)
• In a survey, 54% of Americans said that they practice yoga to release tension. On the other hand, 52% said they do so to get stronger physically and mentally, while 43% said that they do yoga to feel happier. (Eventbrite, 2019)
• 67% of Americans have tried yoga before and 64% want to practice yoga more than they did in the previous year. (Eventbrite, 2019)
• In Alabama, yoga has been prohibited from being taught in public school classrooms since 1993. However, the Alabama House of Representatives voted 73-25 to approve a bill that will lift the 28-year ban and allow yoga to be taught in K-12 schools. (Time, 2021)
• One in five Canadians or 21% said that they practice yoga. (Leger 360, 2019)
• In Brazil, yoga influencers in March 2020 saw an average daily growth dynamics of 493%, the highest amount the countries surveyed. (HypeAuditor, 2020)

Asia-Pacific

• Yoga is the third most popular sport among Chinese millionaires. Yoga was favored by 11% of Chinese individuals with high net worth with personal assets of over 10 million yuan. (Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey, 2021)
• The pilates and yoga studios market size in Australia is estimated to be worth $567.5 million. (IBISWorld, 2021)
• On average, the pilates and yoga studios market size in Australia has declined by 2.7% per year between 2016 and 2021. It is expected to decline by 5.2% by the end of 2021. (IBISWorld, 2021)
• According to a survey, gentle or restorative yoga ranked as the top mindful movement classes for Australians. Among those who exercised with a group at least once a week, 10% go to gentle or restorative yoga classes. (MINDBODY, 2020)

The United Kingdom and Europe

• In a study, the initial reasons why people practice yoga in the UK are for general wellness (39%), fitness (19%), and flexibility (8.5%). On the other hand, 9.5% of participants said that they started practicing yoga due to a physical condition while 6% did so due to a mental health condition. (Cartright et al., 2020)
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, yoga became the most popular topic on Instagram for users in the UK, registering a 74% change compared to the last 180 days. Other popular topics were health (60%), cooking (48%), chef (47%), and news and politics (42%). (HypeAuditor, 2020)
• The market size of the yoga and pilates industry in the UK is worth £926 million. The UK has 4,930 yoga and pilates businesses, which employ 16,445 people. (IBISWorld, 2020)
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, France saw a huge spike in influencer accounts within the yoga space. In March 2020, yoga influencer accounts increased by a whopping 230%, second to gym influencers, which increased by 266%. (HypeAuditor, 2020)
• Other high scorers in the growth dynamic of yoga Instagram influencers were Spain (221%), Australia (127%), and Italy (110%). Countries with only double-digit growth on yoga influencer dynamics were Germany at 58% and the US at 50%. (HypeAuditor, 2020)

Health Effects of Yoga

Yoga provides an array of health benefits to people who practice it regardless of age, so it comes as no surprise that even workplace trends predict that companies will invest more in employee well-being through fitness programs. Studies show that it reduces inattention and hyperactivity in children. It also decreases psychological distress in students, leading to better mental health. According to a survey, yoga participants also reported lifestyle changes and better sleep.

• Kindergarten students aged five years old who did yoga twice a week in school instead of standard physical education showed less inattention and hyperactivity and completed a task faster than similarly aged children doing physical education or no exercise. (Jarraya et al., 2019)
• In a UK survey, the majority of respondents said that they agree or strongly agree that yoga had improved their physical health (88%) as well as mental health (86.2%). They also said that it had improved their stress levels (82.6%), their strength (87.1%), and flexibility (91.6%). Moreover, 69.3% of participants reported a change in lifestyle due to their yoga practice while 57.4% reported having better sleep. (Cartright et al., 2020)
• Meanwhile, a study of the effects of yoga on student mental health revealed that practicing yoga twice a week for three months led to a decrease in psychological distress among university students, with the effects lasting beyond the period of the yoga course. Before the yoga course, 60% of students over the past two weeks had a baseline Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) score of 1.75, which indicates moderate or serious psychological distress. After the yoga course, only 39% of students were above this cut-off value, and only 34% of students were scored above this cut-off value at the three-month follow-up mark. (Elstad et al., 2020)
• Yoga participants were 61% less likely to have high blood sugar levels compared to non-yoga participants. They also were 52% less likely to have a high body mass index and triglyceride levels compared to inactive individuals. (Forseth et al., 2019)

Impact of COVID-19 on the Yoga Industry

Pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions on face-to-face activities have halted yoga studios from doing business, either temporarily or permanently. However, it has led yoga businesses to migrate online as a safer alternative to in-person classes. It appears that people are now more open to virtual yoga classes than they were pre-pandemic and this preference for online formats will likely continue post-pandemic.

• Demand for yoga equipment grew by 154% during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Research and Markets, 2020)
• During the pandemic, yoga classes saw an increase of 25% in reservations as people joined via online classes from home. (Classpass, 2020)
• At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, yoga was one of the most popular topics on Instagram across the globe. In March 2020, Instagram posts about yoga grew by 68%, beating out topics like news and politics (46%), cooking (33%), recipes (31%), and health (28%). (HypeAuditor, 2020)
• Before the pandemic, only 9% of teachers and 40% of students practiced yoga online. During the pandemic, the numbers ballooned to 91% of students and 86% of teachers practicing and teaching online yoga, respectively. (Rawlings & Pollen, 2020)
• Before the pandemic, approximately 40% of students taking yoga classes online used recorded classes, such as those found on YouTube or membership sites. During the pandemic, the preferred mode of delivery by students was live-streamed group classes (67%) followed by recorded classes (61%). (Rawlings & Pollen, 2020)
• According to a survey, 58% of students and 73% of teachers report that they have a better perception of online yoga now than they did before the pandemic. (Rawlings & Pollen, 2020)
• Post-pandemic, 60% of students indicated a preference for recorded classes while only 36% of teachers said they preferred this format. (Rawlings &Pollen, 2020)

Saying “Namaste” at Home

The ancient art of yoga is as relevant today as it was during ancient times. The yoga industry is a multi-billion dollar market that draws in millions of people around the world, which has allowed it to grow in the past few years, though at single-digit rates. Yoga students and teachers are attracted to the practice because of its benefits to one’s physical and mental well-being.

As the fitness industry navigates the post-pandemic world, consumers have come to embrace online yoga classes in lieu of in-person classes, signaling the need for the implementation of digital tools such as video conferencing software and appointment scheduling software. Teachers and students alike can expect that pandemic-related yoga trends like live recorded and virtual classes will continue. With this, they can bid each other “namaste” from the comfort of their own home, at least for the foreseeable future.

References:

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By Louie Andre

B2B & SaaS market analyst and senior writer for FinancesOnline. He is most interested in project management solutions, believing all businesses are a work in progress. From pitch deck to exit strategy, he is no stranger to project business hiccups and essentials. He has been involved in a few internet startups including a digital route planner for a triple A affiliate. His advice to vendors and users alike? "Think of benefits, not features."