As almost all the 25 largest wellness markets around the world surpassed their pre-pandemic levels in 2023, the five largest markets were the United States, with USD 2 trillion wellness economy, followed by China at USD 870 billion, Germany at USD 310 billion, Japan at USD 255 billion and the United Kingdom at 230 billion.

These were some of details of a report by Global Wellness Institute, a thinktank that monitors the global wellness economy. The report adds that barring Japan, Thailand and Brazil, all other 25 largest wellness markets have mostly recovered from the pandemic and have resumed a robust growth trajectory. It adds that they have surpassed their pre-pandemic size when their markets are measured in US Dollar terms, and all of the top 25 markets have fully recovered when measured in their local currencies.

It adds that the top ten largest wellness markets represent 70 pc of the global wellness economy, while the top 25 represent 86 pc. The United States alone accounted for 32 pc of the entire global wellness economy in 2023, says GWI.

The report adds that large wellness markets with especially strong growth and recovery since pre-pandemic include Mexico, India, the United States, Poland, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia. In 2023, the wellness economies of all nine countries surpassed their 2019 size by 130 pc or more.

Four wellness sectors are responsible for much of the wellness economy growth in the largest and fastest-growing markets, namely public health, prevention and personalised medicine; wellness real estate; healthy eating, nutrition, & weight loss; and personal care and beauty.

Globally, per capita spending on wellness of USD 788 is slightly higher than the average consumer out-of-pocket spending on health goods/medical services USD 746. At the regional level, per capita spending on wellness is higher than consumer out-of-pocket spending on healthcare across every region except North America.

According to GWI, globally, per capita spending on wellness grew by 5.9 pc annually from 2019-2023, outpacing the growth of consumer out-of-pocket spending on healthcare of 4.1 pc annually. Wellness has also outpaced the growth rates for many other spending categories, including hotels/restaurants at 3.8 pc annually from 2019-2023, clothing/shoes at 1.4 pc, and education at 1.6 pc – both at the global level and across every region.

The 2024 Global Wellness Economy Monitor reveals that the wellness economy has reached a new peak of USD 6.3 trillion in 2023 and is projected to grow to nearly USD 9 trillion by 2028.

Global wellness economy make up

The report adds that the global wellness economy has grown rapidly in the aftermath of the pandemic and represents 6.03 pc of global GDP. It adds that the wellness economy is a major force in the global economy, larger in size than the green economy, IT, and sports.

All regions have recovered from the pandemic, but North America, Europe, and Middle East North Africa have shown the strongest resilience and growth from 2019-2023. Nine of the 11 wellness sectors have fully recovered from the pandemic, with a 2023 market size that exceeds their 2019 level, while thermal/mineral springs and workplace wellness have not yet recovered.

GWI projects that the global wellness economy will grow at a robust rate of 7.3 pc annually from 2023-2028, a growth rate substantially higher than the projected global GDP growth of 4.8 pc according to current IMF forecasts. As all of the 11 sectors recover from the pandemic, the wellness economy is expected to reach nearly USD 6.8 trillion in 2024, and march toward nearly USD 9 trillion in 2028.