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How many people use meditation apps in Australia and what are the demographics?
Hello, and thanks for your question asking about the total market size of meditation apps in Australia, and what are the demographics of their users. I have found that while there is no official statistic to say what the total market size is for meditation apps in Australia, I have been able to calculate that over 8 million Australians suffer from high levels of stress and may benefit from using a meditation app. In addition to this around 18,533,056 Australians may be open to the use of free meditation apps. Finally, I found that Australian users of a meditation app are slightly more likely to be female, and are more likely to be well educated. Below you will find a deep dive into my research, along with all the details as to how I came to this conclusion.
OVERVIEW
In order to answer your this request, I split your question into 2 segments and separately searched for the total market size of meditation apps in Australia, as well as the demographics of users of these sorts of apps in this region.
In order to find the total market size, I first looked through industry reports (e.g. this one by Deloitte), however the number of users of these apps specifically was not published anywhere. After this, I then looked through news reports and other online articles for this statistic but did not uncover anything, so I then decided I needed to make a calculation. First I found a list of top meditation apps in Australia, and then searched for the number of users for each in order to calculate an estimate of how many are using them in total. However, I found that most apps were used internationally, and region specific data on number of users was not available. So, I then looked for the kind of people who are using these apps, and worked this out as a percentage of the entire population, as you will see below.
In searching for information on demographics, again there was not much available that was region specific. I attempted to find academic papers on this topic that utilised samples in Australia. I also searched for the demographics of users of apps that are popular in the region.
MARKET SIZE
I checked through some market reports on mobile phone use in Australia, this one by Deloitte did provide some information on mediation app usage, however it did not go into fine grain detail such as number of users. However, it did suggest the a large number of phone users are accessing meditation apps, claiming that they are using them to "relax before sleep".
1. Headspace
2. Smiling Mind
3. iMindfulness
4. Mindfulness Daily
5. Buddhify 2
6. Complete Mindfulness
7. Mindfulise
8. ACT Coach
9. Rhythm Free
10. Simply8
Further to this, I found another source listing Calm, Headspace, Buddhify, Mindbody and Meditation Studio as meditation apps that fit into the top health and fitness apps in Australia.
With this list of popular apps in the region I attempted to calculate the total market size by adding up the number of users of all of these apps. However, I quickly found that most of these apps are used internationally and a breakdown of their users by region was not available. I did find that "the Smiling Mind app and program is used by more than 4500 schools", but even here, the total number of users was not available.
Then, I searched for another way to estimate this industry's market size. I found evidence to show that people use Meditation apps when they're stressed. This fact makes sense, as we know that the point of meditation often to relax.
I then found a source that explains that a large proportion of Australians suffer from stress. "In 2014, one in three Australians suffered from high levels of stress, one in four Australians had stress related mental disorder and one in five Australians were on stress-related medication". So I then used this data to calculate a rough estimation of the potential market size of the meditation app industry in Australia. The population of Australia was 24,385,600 as of 2016. This means that roughly 8,127,720 suffer from high levels of stress. This mean that over 8 million Australians many benefit from using a meditation app.
In addition to this I came across an Australian study which found that "76% of 525 respondents would be interested in using their mobile phone for self-management and self-monitoring of mental health if the service were free". If we apply this statistic to the entire population this means that around 18,533,056 Australians may be open to the use of free meditation apps.
Finally, I found some information to suggest that the market for mediation apps in Australia may be growing, as it is becoming a trend for large companies to encourage their use. In addition to this, I also found that "Australians are losing their religion but their craving for meaning and moral teaching appears stronger than ever". This source details how Australians are seeking alternative and more spiritual sources of wellbeing such as yoga, which may mean that they are also turning to meditation.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As I explained above, general demographics of Australian users of meditation apps is not available. I believe that in general, region specific data has not been collected. However, I was able to find some information on the demographics of users of the most popular meditation apps in the country. For example, "The typical Calm user tends to be female (60 percent), with a median age of 30 to 35. Seventy percent use Calm at home, despite its initial focus on helping workers relax during the workday." In addition to this, I found that Buddhify users tend to be "English-speaking, middle-class and financially stable”.
I also came across an academic study that found that the potential market size for these apps is huge, and app users span a number of demographics. However, users are slightly more likely to be female and more educated.
CONCLUSION
I have found that while there is no official statistic to say what the total market size is for meditation apps in Australia, I have been able to calculate that over 8 million Australians suffer from high levels of stress and may benefit from using a meditation app. In addition to this around 18,533,056 Australians may be open to the use of free meditation apps. Finally, I found that Australian users of a meditation app are slightly more likely to be female, and are likely to be well educated.
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