Global Health Club Industry Revenue Totaled $94B in 2018

Global health club industry revenue totaled US$94 billion in 2018, with more than 210,000 clubs serving 183 million members, according to the just-released 2019 IHRSA Global Report.

The top 10 markets across the globe account for more than two out of three health club members and 71% of total industry revenue. While the U.S. leads all markets in memberships and revenue at 62.5 million and US$32.3 billion respectively, Germany was second in both metrics with 11.1 million members and US$6.3 billion. The UK was third in number of members and revenue at 9.9 million and US$6.2 billion, respectively.

“Across the globe, the industry continues to help consumers lead healthier lives as steady growth was recorded in key markets,” Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products, said in a release. “The industry is on pace with IHRSA’s global initiative, announced last year, to reach 230 million health club members worldwide by 2030.”

Industry on Pace to Reach 230 Million Members by 2030

The 230 Million by 2030 initiative took center stage during IHRSA 2019 in San Diego in March. During the March 14 keynote presentation, Derek Gallup, IHRSA Board Ex-Officio and EVP of Fitness for New Evolution Ventures, gave the crowd an update of the fitness industry’s progress, based on IHRSA research.

“We’ve grown the number of members by 12 million in 1 year. A 7% growth—that’s tremendous,” he said. “What that means is if we continue that 7% growth every year through 2030, not only are we going to hit 230 million members, we’re going to hit 400 million members. We’ve got a huge opportunity ahead of us.”

Adding to that opportunity, Gallup said, is the fact that only 6% of the global population has a health club membership. Instead of focusing on the low percentage, Gallup said he’s excited by the 94% of the population that health clubs have yet to reach

“Our business could grow tremendously,” he said. “But we have to inspire everybody to get in there and make sure that it’s fun and that we get results for our members.”

Focusing on Emerging Markets

Next, Gallup put the spotlight on emerging markets, listing countries with the largest percentage growth in gym members in 2018. The Philippines (+33%), China (+30%), and Finland (+25%) took the top three spots, with India coming in 10th with a 10% growth.

The 2019 IHRSA Global Report and other IHRSA research publications provide more insight into these findings.

Based on data gathered in the IHRSA Greater China Report, the combined revenue from the top 10 cities ranks fourth among all global markets at US$3.9 billion in annual revenue, while the number of club members ranks ninth in the world at 4.5 million. The IHRSA Indian Health Club Report ranks fifth in market size among Asia-Pacific health club markets at $821 million in annual revenue (USD). The number of health club locations ranks third in the region at 3,813 sites, while the country’s 2 million members ranks fifth among observed markets.

Opportunities for growth remain in both markets as well as the Asia-Pacific region, overall. The member penetration rate for China and India are 2.98% and 0.15%, respectively.