Between 2% and 6.25% of people meditate worldwide. However, the majority of the adults who meditate are women.
Besides the rise of the meditation market worldwide, the meditation app market has also grown rapidly, with top players like Calm, Headspace, etc.
In this article, we will go through the latest facts and figures about the number of meditators worldwide in the United States, the benefits of meditation, and more.
Meditation Statistics 2024 (Editor’s Choice)
- Between 200 million to 500 million people worldwide meditate.
- The amount of time spent meditating has increased by 2,900% since March 2020.
- 17.3% of adults in the United States meditate.
- An increase of 520% in profit was recorded by the businesses that have meditation programs.
- 8 in 10 employees improved their decision-making ability through meditation.
- Over 9 in 10 adults meditate to reduce stress or relax.
- 60% of the adults meditate to improve energy.
- By 2031, the meditation industry is estimated to reach $20.53 billion.
- Calm has the highest meditation app market share at 31%.
Global Meditation Trends
With the increasing awareness about the benefits of meditation, a large share of people have adopted meditation, and the usage of meditation apps has also increased worldwide.
This section highlights the number of people meditating worldwide and the number of people meditating over the years.
How Many People Meditate Worldwide?
- Around 200 million to 500 million people worldwide practice meditation.
That equals 2% to 6.25% of the global population.
Additionally, mindful meditation has gained a lot of popularity in the West over the past years.
Source: MindWorks, Global Wellness Institute.
Increase In Adoption Of Meditation
- The number of people meditating has increased almost by 30 times since March 2020.
Besides, the population of meditation has increased worldwide, which has led to an increase of 2,900% in the amount of time spent in practicing meditation since March 2020.
Source: Global Wellness Institute.
How Many People Meditate In The US?
- 17.3% of the people in the United States practiced meditation as of 2022.
That was an increase of nearly 10 percentage points compared to 7.5% of the people practicing meditation in the country.
Meditation was the most popular approach in the United States compared to other complementary health approaches like Yoga, Massage Therapy, or Chiropractic Care.
Here is a table displaying the popularity of meditation among other mental health approaches in the United States.
| Complementary Mental Health Approaches | Percentage Of People In The United States |
|---|---|
| Meditation | 17.3% |
| Yoga | 15.8% |
| Chiropractic Care | 11.0% |
| Massage Therapy | 10.9% |
| Guided Imagery/Progressive Muscle Relaxation | 6.4% |
| Acupuncture | 2.2% |
| Naturopathy | 1.3% |
Source: NCCIH
Demographics Of Meditators
- Nearly 1 in 6 people who meditated in the United States were aged 45 to 64 years.
Meanwhile, 13.4% of the people aged 18 to 44 years practiced meditation, and another 13.4% of those aged over 65 stated that they practiced meditation.
Here are further details about the age demographics of the adults who meditate in the table below:
| Age Group | Percentage Of Adults In The US |
|---|---|
| 18 to 44 years | 13.4% |
| 45 to 64 years | 15.9% |
| over 65 years | 13.4% |
Source: NCHS
- The share of women meditating is higher than that of the share of men meditating.
10.3% of the women mediate worldwide, while just 5.2% of the men worldwide meditate.
The difference in the share of adults meditating between these genders is more likely because different genders process emotional stress differently.
Men are more likely to externalize their feelings, while women are more likely to internalize the issue, and their emotions respond well to meditation.
Source: NCBI
Benefits Of Meditation
Meditation, specifically mindfulness meditation, has become quite popular now among people and healthcare specialists. It is now considered as the mind’s gym.
Benefits Of Meditation At The Workplace
- Businesses that have meditation programs for their employees witness a 520% increase in their profit.
Mindful meditation is more likely to help employees cope with work-related stress and depression. Besides, companies that adopted mindful meditation practices witnessed a 120% increase in employee’s concentration and focus. And 85% of the employers witnessed an 85% decrease in absenteeism.
Source: Steve Gooch
- 80% of the employees who participated in the meditation program witnessed an improvement in their decision-making abilities.
Besides, 28% of the workers who participated in mindfulness meditation or yoga classes reported a 28% decrease in their stress levels.
They also witnessed a 20% improvement in their sleep and a 19% reduction in pain.
Source: Business Group on health.
Benefits Of Meditation At School
- 56% of Australians think that meditation must be a part of their school curriculum
80% of the school leaders in Australia believed that anxiety was a big problem in schools.
However, a study conducted in 2017 highlighted that students who engaged in mindfulness meditation had better emotion and behavior regulation compared to the 62% who weren’t practicing.
Other findings of the research were:
- Students who practiced mindful meditation had better academics than 66% of the students who hadn’t practiced mindfulness.
- These students had lower depression and anxiety scores compared to the 66% of those who didn’t practice meditation.
- Additionally, they also had 64% better social skills compared to those who didn’t practice meditation.
Source: Open colleges
Benefits Of Mental Health
- 92% of the people who practiced mindful meditation stated that they meditate to relax or reduce stress.
According to a 2012 survey, over 9 in 10 adults who practice meditation do it to reduce stress, while 73% state that they meditate for general wellness and to prevent diseases.
Further, over half of the adults stated that they meditate with a desire for better sleep.
Source: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
- Nearly 9 in 10 adults said meditation helped them to reduce stress or relax.
Meanwhile, 4 in 5 adults who practiced meditation stated that it helped them to improve their overall health and made them feel better.
Further, over one-fourth of the people who practiced meditation said that their attendance at school or work increased.
Here are more details about the effect of meditation on people’s overall health.
| Effect Of Meditation | Percentage Of Adults |
|---|---|
| Gave a sense of control over health | 59.3% |
| Helped to reduce stress levels or to relax | 89.4% |
| Helped to sleep better | 69.3% |
| Helped to feel better emotionally | 86.6% |
| Made it easier to cope with health problems | 61.3% |
| Improves overall health and makes you feel better | 79.0% |
| Improved relationships with others | 67.4% |
| Improved attendance at job or school (only students/employed) | 26.5% |
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
Benefits Of Meditation On Physical Health
- 6 in 10 people stated that they practiced meditation to improve their energy.
However, a majority of the people who practiced meditation stated that they did it for general wellness and disease prevention.
Additionally, 1 in 2 adults stated that they practiced meditation to improve memory and concentration.
Here is a table displaying the reasons adults stated for practicing mindfulness.
| Reason For Practicing Meditation | Percentage Of Adults |
|---|---|
| For general wellness or general disease prevention | 76.2% |
| To improve energy | 60.0% |
| To improve immune function | 33.8% |
| To improve athletic or sports performance | 18.4% |
| To improve memory or concentration | 50.0% |
Source: NCBI
Meditation Industry Statistics
- The meditation industry is estimated to reach $20.53 billion by 2031.
The meditation industry was valued at $5.29 billion in 2023 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 18.5% between 2024 and 2031. Hence, by the end of the year 2031, the meditation market is predicted to reach $20.53 billion by 2031.
Comparatively, in 2019, the meditation market size was valued at $4.4 billion in 2019.
The major drivers of the meditation market are growing awareness about mental and physical health, the expansion of fitness centers, the increase in innovations and technology, and the accessibility of learning resources.
In addition, the popularity of apps like Calma and Headspace has boosted the industry.
Source: Skyquest
Meditation App Statistics
- With 31% of the market share, Calm is the most popular meditation app worldwide.
It owns a market share over three times higher than any other meditation app.
Further, Daily Yoga is the second most popular meditation app but has a market share of only 9%.
Other popular meditation apps worldwide are Endel, fabulous, and Headspace.
The following table displays the meditation apps that are most popular worldwide as of 2022.
| Meditation Apps | Market Share |
|---|---|
| Calm | 31% |
| Daily Yoga | 9% |
| Endel | 2% |
| Fabulous | 3% |
| Hallow | 2% |
| Headspace | 12% |
| Meditopia | 7% |
| Other | 34% |
Source: Statista.
- 241.30 million people worldwide are estimated to use meditation apps worldwide in 2024.
Of them, 136.20 million are estimated to use free meditation apps, while 105.00 million are estimated to use paid meditation apps.
Comparatively, in 2023, 123.2 million people worldwide used free meditation apps, and 95.62% of people worldwide used paid meditation apps.
The following table displays the number of free, paid, and total meditation apps used by people worldwide by year.
| Year | Free Meditation Apps | Paid Meditation Apps | Total Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2029* | 163.20 million | 119.70 million | 282.90 million |
| 2028* | 161.00 million | 119.70 million | 280.70 million |
| 2027* | 157.10 million | 118.20 million | 275.30 million |
| 2026* | 152.40 million | 115.90 million | 268.30 million |
| 2025* | 145.40 million | 111.40 million | 256.80 million |
| 2024* | 136.20 million | 105.00 million | 241.30 million |
| 2023 | 123.20 million | 95.62 million | 218.90 million |
| 2022 | 105.30 million | 80.60 million | 185.90 million |
| 2021 | 85.64 million | 69.77 million | 155.40 million |
| 2020 | 74.80 million | 58.58 million | 133.40 million |
| 2019 | 37.16 million | 28.50 million | 65.66 million |
| 2018 | 20.47 million | 15.68 million | 36.15 million |
| 2017 | 10.63 million | 8.19 million | 18.81 million |
*-projected values
Source: Statista
Frequency Of Meditation
- 8% of the adults stated that they meditated once or twice a month.
Meanwhile, 4% of the adults meditated several times a year, and 40% stated that they meditated at least once a week.
Here is a table displaying the frequency at which adults mediate:
| Frequency | Percentage Of Adults |
|---|---|
| At least once a week | 40% |
| Once or twice a month | 8% |
| Several times a year | 4% |
| Seldom/ never | 45% |
| Don’t know | 2% |
Source: Pew Research
- 55% of the female stated that they meditated at least once a week, while 48% of men stated the same.
Meanwhile, 53% of the males stated that they meditate several times a year, and 47% of women stated the same.
Conversely, 51% of the men stated that they seldom or never meditated, and 49% of women stated the same.
Here is a table displaying the frequency at which men and women meditated:
| Frequency | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| At least once a week | 45% | 5% |
| Once or twice a month | 48% | 52% |
| Several times a year | 53% | 47% |
| Seldom/ never | 51% | 49% |
| Don’t know | 53% | 47% |
Source: Pew Research
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Conclusion: The Number Of People Meditating Grew By 2,900
The number of people meditating has grown rapidly over the past few years, and currently, between 200 million and 500 million people worldwide meditate.
Further, 17.3% of the people in the United States were meditating in 2022. However, considering the increased popularity of meditation, the share of people in the country meditating might have increased by now.
Above all, the major reason for meditation’s increasing popularity is its positive effects on stress, anxiety, mental health, and physical health.
