Global Wellness economy anticipated to reach US$9 trillion by 2028

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), this week convening at the 18th annual Global Wellness Summit in St Andrews, Scotland, has revealed new research on a wellness market with relentless momentum, worth 26% more than it was pre-pandemic.

The Global Wellness Economy has reached  a new peak of US$6.3 trillion, and is estimated to hit US$9 trillion by 2028.

Wellness is now a larger market than many global mega-industries, including IT, sports, and pharmaceuticals. In spite of the rapid growth of green/sustainability businesses, the wellness market is more than 30% larger than the green economy ($4.8 billion). A striking stat: the wellness market is now roughly 60% the size of all global health expenditures ($10.6 trillion).

GWI forecasts that from 2023 to 2028, the annual growth rate for the wellness economy will be 7.3%, higher than last decade's growth rate of 6.5% and substantially higher than the projected global GDP growth rate of 4.8%.

The projected growth leaders through 2028 are:

1. wellness real estate (15.8%),

2. mental wellness (12.2%),

3. wellness tourism (10.2%),

4. thermal & mineral springs (9.2%), and

5. healthy eating, nutrition & weight loss (6.4%).

The wellness real estate and mental wellness markets will roughly double by 2028.

This week’s release of the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2024, finds that the wellness market grew from $4.6 trillion in 2020 to $5.8 trillion in 2022, and reached a record $6.3 trillion by the end of 2023 (9% annual growth). Wellness continues to expand its share of the overall economy, now representing over 6% of global GDP, up from 5.75% in 2019.

Wellness markets across every global region have seen strong growth from 2019 to 2023, with North America, Europe, and Middle East-North Africa recording the biggest gains.

Market sizes in nine of the 11 wellness sectors have well exceeded their 2019 levels (only thermal/mineral springs and workplace wellness have not yet fully recovered, but will in 2024).

The sectors with the most powerful annual growth rates from 2019 to 2023 are:

1. wellness real estate (18.1%),

2. public health, prevention and personalized medicine (15.2%), and

3. mental wellness (11.6%).

To provide some context on the rising impact that wellness is having on the world economy, GWI researchers compared it to other vast global industries, finding it’s much larger than the pharmaceutical industry, sports, IT, tourism, and the green economy.

Because the trends fuelling the wellness economy will only accelerate - an ageing population, chronic disease, widespread mental unwellness - the GWI predicts that the industry will grow a rapid 7.3% annually from 2023 to 2028, when it will represent 6.8% of global GDP. The market will reach nearly $6.8 trillion in 2024 and nearly $9 trillion in 2028 (nearly double its 2019 size).

Katherine Johnston and Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior researchers note “the wellness economy continues to march forward at a brisk pace, despite a decline in global wellbeing on many fronts.

“In a world full of uncertainty and divisiveness, wellness has become a universal value. No matter your politics or beliefs, who doesn’t desire the knowledge, tools, and opportunities to build a healthy life for yourself and your family?”

The 100-plus-page report is packed with data. It provides new market sizes, recent growth rates, and projections through 2028 for all 11 wellness sectors. It also contains regional data, the top 20 national markets for each wellness sector, and per-capita spending by sector, all while exploring major trends that will impact each segment in the future.

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry and is known for introducing major industry initiatives and regional events that bring together leaders to chart the future. GWI positively impacts global health and wellness by educating public institutions, businesses and individuals on how they can work to prevent disease, reduce stress and enhance overall quality of life. Its mission is to empower wellness worldwide. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/

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