Wellness industry hits $11.2 trillion with US leading growth

New Zealand was ranked ninth in wellness spending per capita. Photo / 123rf

A new report shows the US has become the top “wellness nation” with Americans spending more than US$6000 ($10,600) on wellness annually.

Non-profit organisation Global Wellness Institute (GWI) published its annual Country Rankings report, which measures wellness markets of 140 countries, noting the fastest-growing countries and regions and their annual wellness spending per capita.

GWI found the world wellness economy is worth $11.2 trillion and expects it to reach $16 trillion by 2028. Sectors with the most growth were public health, prevention and personalised medicine; wellness real estate; healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss; and personal care and beauty.

Globally and regionally, wellness outpaced growth rates for several other spending categories such as hotels and restaurants, clothing and shoes and education, indicating a significant shift in consumer priorities.

The report says the US is driving much of this growth. At $3.5 trillion, it represents one-third of the global wellness economy and is far larger than China, worth $1.5 trillion in second place.

The 10 largest wellness markets are the US, China, Germany, Japan, the UK, France, India, Canada, Italy and Australia. These nations represent 70% of the entire global wellness economy, the report says.

Americans have the largest Wellness market according to GWI's report. Photo / 123rf

New Zealand ranks ninth in wellness spending

New Zealand also featured in the research’s list of countries with the highest wellness spending per capita.

Aotearoa came ninth, with Kiwis spending on average $7550 a year on wellness. Icelanders spent the most ($12,600) followed by Switzerland ($11,40) and Seychelles ($11,300). Australians spend slightly more than Kiwis, with a per-capita spend of $8550.

GWI stated it was unsurprising that the countries with the highest per-capita spend tended to be wealthy ones with a high GDP per capita. Meanwhile, the report suggested small countries such as Seychelles and Aruba featured because they are major high-end inbound wellness tourism destinations.

Countries favour certain wellness sectors

Not all countries prioritise the same wellness sectors. In Australia, almost one-third of its wellness market growth was related to Wellness Real Estate and nearly half of Mexico’s gains were related to the Healthy Eating, Nutrition, and Weight Loss segment. In Morocco and Croatia, half the growth was from Wellness Tourism.

The report did not state what wellness sector New Zealand spends the most on.

Graphic / Global Wellness Institute