90+ Yoga statistics 2021 [Research Review]

Because of gym closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many indoor and group activities, like yoga, had to be cancelled.

Check out these yoga statistics we have gathered from 37+ reputable sources to highlight how the yoga landscape has endured the global pandemic and where it is headed.

Global yoga statistics

• There are over 300 million yogis and yoginis worldwide
• 67% of people who practice yoga prefer to do it at home rather than in studios
• 50% of yoga practitioners do it to meditate
• 37% of those who do yoga are beginners
• Only 12% of yogis/yoginis identify as advanced practitioners

Impact of COVID-19 on yoga

Because of the stay-at-home mandates due to the spread of the coronavirus, there was a significant increase in the:

• demand for yoga equipment - 154%
• online yoga classes reservations - 25%
• yoga-related social media posts - 68%
• number of teachers and students doing online yoga - 86% and 91%, respectively
• use of live-streaming group classes - 67%
• use of recorded classes - 61%
• preference for recorded yoga classes among students - 60%
• teachers and students have a better understanding of yoga because of online classes - 73% and 58%, respectively 

Yoga statistics per region or country

The U.S.

• In 2021, there are 21,668 yoga instructors and over 6,000 yoga and pilates studios
• 71% of American yogis have at least one college degree
• 38% of American yoga practitioners are vegetarian
• In 2020, it was estimated that 55.1 million Americans did yoga, up by 53% from 36 million in 2016
• 18.3 million Americans do not practice yoga but are interested in trying it
• In the last 6 months, 15% of Americans have practised yoga
• States with the most yoga studios are:
  • California - 3,139
  • New York - 1,738
  • Texas - 1,388
• In 2016, Americans spent $16 billion on yoga classes and equipment

Europe

• In 2020, the UK had: 
  • 16,400 people employed in the yoga industry with 10,000 yoga instructors who teach 2 to 3 times a week
  • There are about 4,900 yoga studios in the UK which hold about 20,000 to 30,000 yoga classes per week
  • 460,000 Brits do yoga each week with an average of 15 people per class
  • 74% of Instagram posts from the UK were about yoga in 2020
• In 2020, yoga influencer accounts on Instagram soared by:
  • 230% in France
  • 221% in Spain
  • 110% in Italy
  • 58% in Germany
  • Outside of Europe, Brazil had the biggest growth in Instagram yoga influencers at 493%

Asia-Pacific

• 11% of Chinese millionaires with personal assets worth over 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) prefer yoga 
• The number of yoga studios in Australia decreased by 2.7% from 2016 to 2021 and is expected to decrease 5.2% by the end of 2021
• 10% of Australians who do yoga prefer gentle or restorative yoga

Reasons for doing yoga

People practice yoga for various reasons including to:

• Improve overall health  - 74.1%
• Boost energy - 67.5%
• Improve flexibility - 61%
• Sleep better - 59%
• Achieve fitness goals - 56%
• Reduce tension - 54%
• Develop mental and physical strength - 52%
• Increase the feeling of happiness - 43%
• Motivates them to eat healthy food - 40%
• Reduce stress - 38%
• Get some "me time" -  27%
• Reduce the feeling of loneliness -  21%
• Unplug from technology - 20%

Yoga demographics

As of 2021, yoga practitioners are: 

• Women - 80.7%
• Moderate alcohol drinkers - 72.1%
• College-educated - 51.9%
• of Indian descent - 50%
• Non-smokers - 46.9%
• Aged between 30 to 49 years old - 43%
• Aged 18 years old and below - 37%

The most common ethnicity of yoga instructors in the U.S. are:

• • White - 77.1%
  • Hispanic or Latino - 9.3%
  • Black - 6.4%
  • Asian - 3.9%

Health benefits of yoga

Mental and brain health

• 15 minutes of yoga can improve brain activity and mood
• 3 months of yoga can reduce depression or depressive mood by 50%
• Anxiety is decreased by 40% thru regular yoga
• 52% of people with PTSD claim that yoga alleviated its symptoms
• 2x a week of yoga among kindergarten students can significantly reduce inattention

Cardiorespiratory health

• Yoga can decrease systolic blood pressure by 26 points and 15 points for diastolic blood pressure
• Yoga can lower cholesterol by 23% and triglycerides by 52%
• Yoga reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases by 47%
• One month of yoga can improve lung capacity, lowering respiratory rate per minute by 43%

Other health benefits

• 75% of women claim that doing yoga helped improved their sex life
• Yoga can alleviate chronic pain in 89% of patients
• Lower the chance  of having high blood sugar by 61%
• Reduces the chance of developing a high body mass index by 52%

Fun facts

• Yoga is over 5,000 years old
• There are over 100 styles of yoga which includes Hatha Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Aerial Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga that varies in intensity and purpose
• Over 60 million yoga posts can be found on Instagram
• In 2018, the largest yoga lesson was held in India with 100,984 participants
• The oldest yoga teacher, Tao Porchon-Lynch, was aged 101 years old
•  64% of yogis said they wanted to do more yoga in 2019
• 44% of yoga practitioners do it 2 to 3 times a week
• 66% of yogis try yoga in a different setting at least once a year
• 57.4% reported having better sleep
• The injury rate for yoga is 10%, lower than other physically intense activities

Where people do yoga 

• As for where they practice, the majority of respondents (67%) do yoga at home, followed by:
• Gym (43%)
• Yoga studio (38%)
• Outdoors (32%)
• Yoga or wellness festival (20%)
• Special event or unique venue (20%)

Interest in different types of yogas

• Iyengar yoga - 36%
• Laughter yoga - 20%
• Hot yoga - 18%
• Disco yoga -17%
• Immersive yoga - 17%
• Aerial yoga - 15%

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Use of content

• If the yoga statistics has got you bending over backward because you're dying to know more, feel free to reach out to Nick Rizzo at nick@runrepeat.com. He’d be happy to answer any queries. He’s also available to do interviews.
• Data from this analysis is free to use for any online publication. We only request that you link back to this original source.

References