ICF + PwC
ICF and PwC have collaborated for nearly 20 years to produce the ICF Global Coaching Study research, with periodic updates released every few years.
PwC’s extensive experience in market research and analysis yields thorough findings of professional coaching industry trends, challenges, and opportunities. This comprehensive approach provides a more nuanced understanding of the coaching landscape.
The research is always commissioned by ICF and conducted by PwC, ensuring no implied bias occurs during this study. This allows ICF to accurately and transparently disseminate the data to our members, and the integrity of the process offers unparalleled value to our coaching community and others in the industry.
Coaching Industry Growth and Optimism
Growth. Optimism. Opportunity.
That’s the story of the 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study.
Around the world, the number of coach practitioners continues to rise and so does the industry’s annual revenue. Even more encouraging, coaches report expanding opportunities: serving more clients, offering new services, and making an even greater impact.
This study captures voices from across the profession to create the most comprehensive global snapshot of coaching today. Packed with data, trends, and insights, the 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study gives you a front-row seat to the state of coaching now — and where it’s headed next.
Whether you’re a practicing coach, a prospective client, or simply curious about the industry, this report offers essential insights into one of the world’s fastest-growing professions.
Key Findings
The data is in: The coaching industry isn’t just growing; it’s breaking records. From 2019 to 2023, the profession saw a 54% surge in the number of coaches worldwide. And the momentum hasn’t slowed. The past two years brought even more growth.
The 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study also shows that more coaches are adding to their core services. And coach practitioners expect to be busier despite increased competition in every region of the world. Here are highlights from the 2025 study:
- The global number of coach practitioners rose 15% since 2023, reaching a record 122,974.
- With more coaches came more revenue. The profession generated an estimated $5.34 billion (USD) over the past year, almost double the revenue total from 2023 ($2.849 billion USD).
- Even with more coaches, most (59%) expect to make more money next year. They see that revenue coming because they’ll have more clients and more coaching sessions — and not higher fees.
- Most professional coaches already offer additional services: 60% provide training, 57% offer consulting, 55% offer facilitation, and 49% deliver mentoring.
- 73% of coaches agree that clients and organizations expect them to have a coaching certification or credential.
To uncover more insights, visit our Online Store to get the 2025 report.
ICF Member Price: $95 USD
Non-Member Price: $295 USD
Please Note: Once you have completed the Shopping Cart transaction, you can access the report by clicking the “Download” button to the left of the report title. You may also access it anytime via the My Downloads page.
Industry Growth and Optimism Executive Summary
Pressed for time? Get the Executive Summary of the 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study. This summary shares key data and takeaways in a quick, scannable format. It delivers what you need to make smart decisions on the go; no deep dive required.
But fair warning: Once you've seen the highlights, you’ll be tempted to see everything. And you can — in the full report.
100 Club Slide Deck
As an added bonus, ICF offers our “100 Club” slide decks, which include responses and key findings from countries, territories, states, provinces, and other locations where more than 100 valid survey responses were submitted.
Slides create an easy-to-grasp digest of robust information from areas around the world that have the largest sample sizes. The decks are perfect to use for any of your presentations to show the growth of the profession in a comprehensible way.
Methodology
The 2025 study survey totaled 10,035 responses from 127 countries. More than 100 survey returns were received from 28 countries across all major world regions, with 89% of the responses coming from coach practitioners.
How Best to Use the Study
Feeling a bit daunted by the mountain of data in this report? Don’t sweat it — turn that data into your personal growth toolkit! With a few clever strategies, you’ll not only boost your own career, but you’ll also contribute to the ongoing professionalization of the coaching industry. Here’s how to make it happen:
Show Off Your Strengths: The report shows demand for professional coaches continues to grow and that credentials and association memberships are proof of your expertise. Company leaders and clients recognize these qualifications and will pay for your skills. Leverage your strengths, shine a spotlight on what makes you unique, and turn your coaching into opportunity.
Find Your Niche and Own It: The data highlights emerging trends that can help you sharpen your expertise where it’s needed most. Being a go-to expert in a hot new area can set you apart from the crowd.
Go through the report to discover which added services are gaining popularity among your peers and their clients and compare these trends to your own menu of offerings. Is there something you can add to your practice that will entice clients to ask about it? Or an area you’ve been curious about but haven’t yet explored?
Dive into these details and see where you already excel. Chances are, you already have expertise your clients want more of.
Upgrade Your Toolbox: Use the latest trends in this data to identify new tools and techniques for your practice. Keep your work and your clients’ goals on track by integrating innovative approaches that address today’s needs.
Past ICF Global Coaching Studies
Seeing how the profession has grown over the years adds value to your cumulative knowledge of industry trends. Past data can lead to future forecasting, and you can adapt as the industry changes if you know the history. Read through our past installments of the ICF Global Coaching Study for the trends that shaped our profession.
2023 ICF Global Coaching Study
The 2023 ICF Global Coaching Study marks a record-shattering period for the coaching profession. It is the first report to capture the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it reveals an adapted industry in robust recovery mode.
Key Findings:
- The number of professional coaches around the world spiked to an estimated record of 109,200. The growth rate of coaches also accelerated and was up 54% between 2019 and 2022.
- The global total revenue was estimated at another record, $4.564 billion (USD), up a staggering 60% since 2019.
- Almost half of all coach practitioners (48%) were Generation X. One in 10 coaches were Millennials, primarily from Eastern Europe (21%), North America (8%), and Oceania (7%).
- The number of women coach practitioners jumped 15% from 2015, to 72%, possibly due to challenges and adaptations needing to be made during the pandemic. Most coaching clients were also women (58%).
ICF Member Price: $25 USD
Non-Member Price: $125 USD
Download the Executive Summary (PDF)
2020 ICF Global Coaching Study
The 2020 ICF Global Coaching Study provides important benchmarking data as the last coaching industry research conducted entirely before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Key Findings:
- Estimated global total revenue at $2.8 billion USD, an increase of 21% from 2015.
- Nearly all coach practitioners (99%) report that they have completed some coach-specific training, and 93% of managers/leaders using coaching skills have received some coach-specific training.
- The importance of credentials and certifications is on the rise. Almost three in four coach practitioners (74%) said they currently hold a credential or certification from a professional coaching organization. More managers/leaders using coaching skills agree that clients expect their coaches to be certified/credentialed. The proportion of respondents who strongly agree rose from 37% in 2015 to 55% in 2019.
- The typical coaching client is between 35 and 44 years old (37%).
ICF Member Price: $25 USD
Non-Member Price: $125 USD
Download the Executive Summary (PDF)
2016 ICF Global Coaching Study
For the first time, the 2016 study includes data specific to individuals who self-identify as managers and leaders who use coaching skills within their organizations.
Key Findings:
- Estimated that there are 53,300 coach practitioners worldwide and 10,900 managers/leaders using coaching skills.
- Globally, the majority of clients are sponsored (paid for by a third party like an employer) at 53%.
- 51% of respondents report being able to affect social change in a positive way.
Download the Executive Summary (PDF)
2012 ICF Global Coaching Study
Despite a global economic downturn, the coaching industry continued to grow.
Key Findings:
- Coaches said they had experienced an increase in clients (59%) and an increase in the number of their coaching sessions (49%).
- Approximately 76% of the estimated global total of professional coaches represent the high-income regions of North America, Western Europe, and Oceania, although these three regions only make up 11% share of the global population.
- The majority of respondents view their prospects over the next 12 months in a positive light and are looking ahead with confidence.
Download the Executive Summary
2007 ICF Global Coaching Study
This study was one of the largest pieces of research undertaken at the time. Not only does the study provide data on key demographic characteristics of the industry, but it also provides a pioneering analysis of global coaching revenues.
Key Findings:
- The estimated global coaching revenue was $1.5 billion USD, with 30,000 professional coaches worldwide.
- Approximately 68% of respondents indicated that they were female and the biggest concentration of all respondents being between 46 and 55 years (38.8%). Closely mirroring the known demographics of the coach, the majority of coaching clients were also female (56.5%) and were predominantly between 38 and 45 years (35%).
- More than half of the survey respondents (51.8%) agreed that their clients are increasingly expecting them to be credentialed.
