Global Wellness Economy now worth $6.8 trillion

New Global Wellness Institute (GWI) research, released at the Global Wellness Summit (GWS) in Dubai, reveals the wellness market has grown by 35 per cent since 2019.

Estimated as a $3.4 trillion industry in 2013, the global wellness economy has soared to a new value of $6.8 trillion (£5.17 trillion/€5.87 trillion). This is up from $6.3 trillion last year and represents 6.12 per cent of global GDP.

The Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2025 reveals that, from 2023-2024, the wellness economy grew by 7.9 per cent. Spending on wellness is now 35 per cent higher than in 2019.

The GWI projects the wellness economy will expand by 7.6 per cent annually over the next four years, reaching nearly $9.8 trillion in 2029.

“These shifts are fuelling growth across all wellness sectors, from real estate and mental wellness to hot springs, social bathing and preventative medical-wellness solutions,” said GWI senior research fellow Katherine Johnston.

“Wellness has consistently grown faster than the global economy. It grew by 6.5 per cent annually from 2013-2024, while global GDP grew by 3.2 per cent. Wellness is now larger in size than the green economy, IT, tourism and sports.

“By 2029, we project the global wellness economy will represent 7.08 per cent of global GDP.”

Regional wellness economies

In the last few years, North America has surpassed Asia-Pacific to become the largest regional wellness economy.

North America ($2.3 trillion), Asia-Pacific ($2.0 trillion) and Europe ($1.7 trillion) together account for nearly 90 per cent of the entire global wellness economy.

As of 2024, North America, Middle East-North Africa and Europe have shown the strongest resilience, recovery and growth since before the start of the pandemic.

Winning wellness sectors

All of the 11 wellness sectors identified by the GWI have fully recovered from the pandemic, with a 2024 market size that exceeds that of 2019.

Personal care and beauty, healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss and physical activity are the largest sectors, together comprising 54 per cent of the global wellness market.

Wellness tourism and public health, prevention and personalised medicine complete the top five largest sectors.

Wellness real estate and mental wellness are by far the fastest growing sectors, expanding at average annual rates of 19.5 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.

Traditional and complementary medicine is projected as a significant future gainer. The GWI states this is party because Ayurveda, TCM and herbal medicines are becoming more mainstream and also because category includes longevity and biohacking, which are accelerating at pace.

Wellness tourism, spas and thermal springs

Overall, wellness tourism spending grew by 1.9 per cent annually from 2019-2024; it is now at 110 per cent of its 2019 level.

• Wellness tourism is worth $893.9 billion
• Spas are worth $157.4 billion (135 per cent of their 2019 level)
• Thermal/mineral springs are worth $71.7 billion with 10 per cent projected annual growth to 2029.

“For the last decade, spas have been moving far beyond being places for just massage and facials – 2024 was a year that truly solidified the shift,” said Johnston.

“Procedures that used to take place at medical clinics are increasingly showing up on spa menus. Wealthy consumers are turning to spas for diagnostics and early detection. Higher-end resorts are expanding to become hybridised medical-wellness or longevity clinics.

“As a result, there is a growing overlap between wellness and medicine at the higher end of the market, blurring the lines across sectors and making it harder to define what is a spa.”

Growth predictions

GWI predicts the wellness economy will continue its rapid growth and expand its share of consumer spending over the next five years.

All but one of the individual wellness sectors (workplace wellness) are projected to exceed global GDP growth. GWI predicts:

• Wellness tourism will grow at 9.1 per cent
• Thermal/mineral springs at 10.0 per cent
• Personal care and beauty will remain the largest segment in the wellness economy through to 2029
• Wellness real estate will enter the top five sectors by 2027.

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