GWI: Global Wellness is now a $6.3T Economy
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) recently published its free 2024 report which showed that the wellness economy reached a new peak of $6.3 trillion in 2023, and is projected to grow at around 7% per year to reach nearly $9 trillion by 2028. The report takes a deep dive into the data, examining the growth and trends across the 11 sectors that the GWI cites as comprising the wellness economy: personal care and beauty, healthy eating, physical activity, tourism, public health and personalized medicine, traditional and complimentary medicine, real estate, mental wellness, spas, thermal/mineral springs, and workplace wellness.
What is Wellness?
The GWI defines wellness as the active pursuit of behaviors, habits, and lifestyles that contribute to overall good health. As described in the report, wellness is not an end state but rather an ongoing, lived process that is associated with intentions, choices, and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and well-being. Additionally, wellness is connected to holistic health, meaning that it incorporates several different dimensions that should work in concert with one another. These dimensions are physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, and environmental health.
While wellness is a pursuit undertaken by the individual and each of us must take responsibility for our choices and behaviors, it is also influenced by the physical, social, and cultural environments in which we live. Research on the determinants of health indicates that environmental, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors can account for as much as 90% of our disease risks and health outcomes.
What is the Wellness Economy?
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) defines the wellness economy as industries that provide products and services that enable consumers to incorporate wellness activities into their lives. Encompassing eleven diverse sectors, the concept of the wellness economy was pioneered and first measured by GWI in the 2014 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, at which time it was estimated as a $3.4 trillion industry. According to the GWI, this was the first time that wellness was defined and evaluated as a global industry, with supporting sector and geographic data.
The report incoporates data from 218 countries, territories, and markets, and is a fascinating exploration of wellness spending and habits around the world. The industry continues to grow and shows no indication of slowing down, an encouraging sign that people everywhere are taking this aspect of life seriously and willing to invest in both it and themselves for the long term.
The full report can be downloaded for free here: https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/industry-research/2024-global-wellness-economy-monitor/