The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry, recently released the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2025, research that provides authoritative, in-depth data and insights on the global wellness market and each of its 11 sectors.
From the research, the story is about accelerating growth. The wellness market has doubled since 2013, and grew 7.9% from 2023 to 2024, reaching a new peak of $6.8 trillion. The market is officially beyond “pandemic recovery mode”: all 11 wellness sectors now exceed their 2019 values, most by significant margins.
By far the fastest growing segments are wellness real estate and mental wellness, expanding at 19.5% and 12.4% annually, respectively, from 2019 to 2024. The only stagnant market: workplace wellness, with global spending shrinking by 1.5% from 2023 to 2024. Every regional wellness market has experienced major growth over the last five years, with North America (7.9%), Middle East-North Africa (7.2%) and Europe (6.3%) posting the biggest annual gains.
Wellness, A Massive Economic Force
Wellness ($6.8T) now surpasses other global mega-industries, including sports ($2.7T), tourism ($5T), the green economy, ($5.1T), and IT ($5.3T). It’s almost four times bigger than the pharmaceutical industry ($1.8T) and is 60% as large as all global health expenditures (including consumer and government spending of $11.2T).
Wellness keeps growing its share of the overall world economy: if it represented 5.7% of global GDP in 2019, and 6.1% in 2024, GWI forecasts that it will comprise 7.1% by 2029.
Because the trends fueling the wellness industry will only accelerate—an aging population, rampant chronic disease and mental unwellness, and a market newly focused on prevention and longevity––GWI predicts that the industry will grow at an even faster pace (7.6% annually) through 2029, when it will approach $10 trillion. The predicted biggest gainers through 2029 by annual growth rate are wellness real estate (15.8%), traditional & complementary medicine (10.8%), mental wellness (10.1%) and thermal/mineral springs (10%).
“Now that the wellness economy has fully recovered from the pandemic, we can see how unstoppable it is as a consumer trend, and also how much the future growth has been accelerated by our pandemic experiences,” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow. “There’s been a sea change in consumer mindsets, with prevention, mental health, social connection, the impacts of our living environments, and nature becoming dramatically more important all over the world. These shifts are fueling growth across all wellness sectors––from wellness real estate and mental wellness to hot springs and social bathing to more sophisticated preventative medical-wellness solutions.”
The 140-page report is filled with new market data, sub-sector breakdowns and future projections for all 11 wellness sectors––along with regional data and the top 20 national markets for each wellness sector. New for 2025 (Chapter 2) is an exploration of the powerful market trends that will impact the future of all 11 wellness sectors and why certain segments are growing faster or slower.
By 2029, six wellness sectors—personal care & beauty; healthy eating, nutrition, & weight loss; physical activity; wellness tourism; wellness real estate; and traditional & complementary medicine—will exceed $1 trillion in market size.
About the Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), 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.
Research Sponsors: This research was made possible by these leading companies: Aldar Properties PJSC, Amway, Fountain Life, Sable Investments, Therme Group, Eywa by R Evolution, Hyatt, NADclinic, Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, Technogym, amp, KOHLER, Mather, Rancho la Puerta, Six Senses and Universal Companies.
