Virtual Reality Statistics 2024 – Data & Facts!

Today, virtual reality is not just in fictional movies. The rapidly evolving technology helps increase immersive experiences through VR that transport consumers into simulated worlds. 

From attending live events with your friends to learning to perform surgeries, VR is on its way to revolutionizing the way we learn and interact. As a result, 72.2 million people in the United States are estimated to adopt VR in 2024. 

Let’s explore further statistics related to VR users, adoption, market size, VR hardware users, the impact of VR in gaming, education, training, and the Future of VR in this post.

Top Virtual Reality Statistics

  • Over 171  million people use VR technology worldwide. 
  • 72.2 million people in the United States are estimated to use VR in 2024. 
  • In 2024, the AR and VR user penetration rate is anticipated to reach 52.8%.
  • The VR market size is estimated to reach $67.66 billion in 2024. 
  • Virtual reality can potentially boost the global economy by $450.5 billion by 2030.
  • The number of VR hardware users is projected to surpass 130 million by 2027.
  • 91% of businesses have already adopted or plan to adopt VR or AR technology.

VR User Statistics

Millions of people worldwide use VR for gaming, education, and entertainment. Let’s take a look at the number of people who use VR worldwide and in the United States.

How Many People Use VR?

As of now, over 171 million people use VR technology worldwide.

It is estimated that the number of VR users worldwide has grown considerably in 2024. However, no concrete data about the latest number of VR users worldwide is available. 

Source: Draw and Code

72.2 Million People In The United States Are Estimated To Use VR In 2024

The number of VR users in the United States is expected to witness an annual increase of 4.8% in 2024. 

Comparatively, the number of VR users in the United States grew by 6% in 2023, reaching 68.9 million users. 

The number of VR users in the United States grew from 43.4 million in 2019 to 68.9 million in 2023. This was an overall growth of 58.77%. 

Plus, the number of VR users in the United States is forecasted to reach 78.5 million by 2027. 

Number Of VR Users In The United States

The following table details the number of VR users in the United States over the years. 

YearNumber Of VR Users In The United States
201943.4 million
202050.7 million
202161.5 million
202265.0 million
202368.9 million
2024*72.2 million
2025*74.7 million
2026*76.7 million
2027*78.5 million

*– Projected Values

Source: Oberlo.

The AR And VR User Penetration Rate Is Anticipated To Reach 52.8% In 2024

Further, the VR and AR penetration rate is forecasted to reach 55.9% by 2028. 

Source: Statista

VR Adoption Statistics

A number of businesses and educational and training organizations worldwide have adopted VR. Similarly, a significant share of people worldwide have adopted VR for gaming, attending live events, etc. 

This section uncovers the latest facts and figures about VR adoption for personal as well as professional usage.

51% of The Companies Are Working on Integrating or Have Already Adopted VR In At Least One of Their Dedicated Lines of Business 

Further, 34% of the companies stated that developing and training people is one of the biggest benefits of VR and Metaverse. 

The following table displays further information about the state of companies that are adopting or have adopted VR.

State Of Companies With VR AdoptionPercentage Of Companies 
No activity9%
Research13%
Planning17%
Paused11%
Integrating into our strategy30%
Part of our Strategy21%

Source: PWC

91% Of Businesses Are Already Using or Are Planning To Adopt AR or VR Technology 

Besides, one-third of the businesses reported that they have fully deployed the usage of AR and VR technologies and are looking forward to scaling up their use. 

The top uses of AR and VR implemented by the companies are as follows:

Top Use Cases Of AR/ VR In The Companies Percentage Of companies 
Virtually supplement labor on production floors60% 
Virtual customer visits53%
Design and product engineering53%
Train employees26%

Source: Grid Raster

Nearly Half of The VR Users Owned Oculus In 2021

Facebook’s Oculus headset was owned by 49% of VR device users worldwide. It was the most possessed VR device in 2021. 

Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets are used by 22.91% of Steam gamers

Sony PlayStation VR was the second most-owned VR device, with 31% of the VR device users owning it. 

Here are further details about the share of VR device owners worldwide as of 2021. 

VR DevicePercentage Of VR Device Owners 
Oculus 49%
Sony Playstation 31%
HTC Vive12%
Valvex Index6%
Other14%

Source: Security.org.

53% of Consumers Believed That VR Would Hit The Mainstream Before AR

According to a survey conducted in 2018, over half of the respondents believed that VR would gain recognition and adoption worldwide before AR. 

However, 50% of users believed AR has more potential, while 47% believed VR has more potential. 

Source: GWI. 

VR Market Size

The Virtual Reality market size is estimated to be valued at $67.66 billion in 2024. 

Further, the VR market is forecasted to reach $204.35 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 24.74%. 

Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest-growing VR market between 2024 and 2029. Conversely, North America is expected to be the largest VR market worldwide during the prediction period. 

VR Market Size Worldwide

The following table displays the VR market size over the years.

YearVR Market Size Worldwide 
2023$54.24 billion
2024*$67.66 billion
2025*$84.40 billion
2026*$105.28 billion
2027*$131.33 billion
2028*$163.82 billion
2029*$204.35 billion

*-Projected values

Source: Mordor Intelligence.

VR Hardware Statistics

With the increased adoption of VR technologies, VR hardware users are expected to increase by 32.3 million between 2023 and 2027. As a result, the global penetration of VR Hardware will increase rapidly between these years. 

The majority share of VR hardware consumers use VR headsets, while fewer users use body suits and other hardware. 

Let’s explore further details about VR hardware users worldwide. 

By 2027, The Number of VR Hardware Users Is Anticipated To Surpass 130 Million Worldwide

In 2023, the number of VR hardware users was 97.7 million. Comparatively, there were around 30 million VR hardware users in 2020. That was an overall approximate growth of 225.67% in VR hardware users worldwide between 2020 and 2023. 

Further, the number of VR hardware users is estimated to grow approximately by 33.06% between 2023 and 2027. 

Source: Statista

88% of VR Consumers Use VR Headsets Multiple Times A Month

At the same time, 60% of VR consumers reported using VR headsets more than once a week. However, these VR sessions last around 30 minutes to 45 minutes two to four times a week. 

Source: AR Post

Did you know? Lower-priced VR Headsets are the primary reason 50% of US adults use Metaverse.

The VR Headset Market Is Estimated To Generate A Revenue Of $9.9 Billion In 2024

That will be a revenue growth of 8.4% compared to $9.2 billion generated in 2023. Further, the market is expected to generate a revenue of $11.4 billion by 2028. 

China is anticipated to be the top contributor to the VR headset market, with an anticipated revenue of $3.17 billion in 2024. 

The primary driver of VR headset is its increasing adoption in gaming and entertainment. 

Besides, the Asia Pacific region is expected to hold the largest virtual reality headset market share in the forecasted period.

VR Headset Market Revenue

The following table displays the VR headset market size over the years.

YearVR Headset Market Revenue
2018$1.7 billion
2019$2.3 billion
2020$3.4 billion
2021$6.1 billion
2022$8.1 billion
2023$9.2 billion
2024*$9.9 billion
2025*$10.5 billion
2026*$11.1 billion
2027*$11.2 billion
2028*$11.4 billion

*-Projected Values

Source: Statista. 

The Global Penetration of Virtual Reality Hardware Is Estimated To Reach 1.5% In 2024 

Comparatively, the penetration rate of video games is estimated to be 47.4% in 2024. These numbers depict that a significantly smaller consumer group owns the VR hardware. 

Note that not all VR hardware will be used for gaming, so the penetration rate will remain smaller. 

The following table displays the penetration rate of VR hardware.

Year Penetration Rate Of VR Hardware
20200.4%
20210.7%
20221.0%
20231.3%
2024*1.5%
2025*1.6%
2026*1.7%
2027*1.7%

*- projected values 

Source: Statista

VR Gaming Statistics

Around 5% to 10% of gamers use VR gaming. VR has the potential to transfer the gamers into the game’s virtual environment, and the gamers can physically interact with their environment. 

Here are some detailed statistics on VR in gaming. 

The Global Virtual Reality In The Gaming Market Is Forecasted To Reach $109.59 Billion By 2030

In 2023, the global virtual reality gaming market was valued at $26.11 billion. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.7% between 2023 and 2030 and is projected to reach 109.59 billion. 

The adoption of VR in gaming has enhanced the gaming experience by allowing users to enter their screens virtually. As a result, the virtual reality gaming market is expanding rapidly with the adoption of VR accessories like headsets, gloves, and bodysuits. 

The following table displays the VR in the gaming market size over the years.

YearVirtual Reality In The Gaming Market 
2020$3.9 billion
2021$4.7 billion
2022$20.7 billion
2023$26.1  billion
2024*$32.0billion
2025 *$39.3 billion
2026 *$48.2 billion
2027*$59.1 billion
2028*$72.7billion
2029*$89.2 billion
2030*$105.5 billion

*-Projected values

Source: Grand View Research.

Around 70% of VR Consumers Use VR Headsets For Gaming

Besides, 42% of the owners use VR headsets to watch TV or films. 

Source: Enterprise apps today

28% of Casual Gamers Wanted To Travel To Virtual Versions of Real-World Locations In 2023

At the same time, 36% of the super games and 31% of the avid gamers preferred the same.

On the other hand, 38% of the supers gamers wanted to attend virtual live events in video games, while 23% of the casual gamers and 31% of the avid gamers wished the same. 

The following table displays the activities gamers would prefer to participate in the video games. 

Activities That Gamers Would Like To Participate In Video Games Super GamersAvid GamersCasual Gamers
Meeting new people/ Socializing 51% 48%36%
Watching documentaries/ entertainment videos49%48%60%
Attending live events38%30%23%
Travelling to different world locations virtually36%31%28%
Attending educational classes or work-related events31%26%13%

Source: Statista

VR in Training And Education

The adoption of VR in training and education has improved retention rates along with making concepts easier to understand. 

Additionally, VR enables companies and organizations to train their employees for real-life situations by providing a virtual environment. 

This section highlights the latest statistics about the usage of VR in training and education worldwide. 

VR Training Has A 75% Retention Rate In Schools

VR training beats other learning methods like lectures, reading, and audio-visual learning in terms of retention rates. 

The retention rates of students in a lecture are recorded to be just 5%, while reading and audio-visual learning have a retention rate of 10% and 20%, respectively. 

Source: Pixovr

Virtual Reality Has The Potential To Improve Memory Recall By 8.8%

A study highlighted that VR helps improve memory recall by experiencing the environment virtually, which assists in memory retention. 

As a result, learning through VR increases memory recall accuracy by 8.8% compared to learning through traditional computer screens. 

Source: Springer Link, Pixovr

Employees Can Be Trained 4 Times Quicker Through VR Courses

Training employees through the traditional classroom method requires 2 hours on average. At the same time, training employees through e-learning requires 45 minutes. In comparison, the employees can be trained in just 29 minutes for the same task through e-learning. 

As a result, the employees require just one-fourth of the time for training through VR compared to the traditional classroom methods. 

Besides, the employees trained through VR reported being 275% more confident in applying skills learned through training and are four times more focused than the employees who receive training through e-learning methods. 

Source: PWC

Orthopedic Surgery Residents Trained Using VR Witnessed A 50% Reduction In Critical Surgical Errors

The orthopedic surgery residents trained using virtual reality made half the number of critical errors during the surgical procedures compared to those trained using the traditional method. 

Further, the study also found that VR training reduced the surgeons’ learning curve by up to 50 cases, which amounted to nearly an hour of actual surgical time. 

As a result, VR training for orthopedic surgery residents was 34 times less expensive than the traditional learning methods due to decreased errors and increased accuracy.

Source: Precision OS Tech

Future of Virtual Reality

VR is set to break the world’s boundaries and help consumers bring their imagination into reality. VR technology is on its way to transforming entertainment, healthcare, education, gaming, and other industries worldwide. 

Here are some facts and figures displaying VR’s future impact.

Virtual Reality Can Potentially Boost The Global Economy By $450.5 Billion By 2030

Virtual reality added $13.5 billion to the global economy in 2022 and is anticipated to add $138.3 billion to the global economy by 2025.

Additionally, by 2030, VR is projected to add $450.5 billion to the global economy, while AR is expected to add 1.09 trillion to the global economy. 

As a result, AR and VR together are estimated to boost the global economy by 1.5 trillion. 

Source: PWCCN

Over 23.36 Million Jobs Will Be Impacted By AR And VR By 2030

With the increased adoption of VR and AR technologies worldwide, a number of jobs have transformed worldwide.

In 2019, only 824.63K jobs were impacted by AR and VR. Comparatively, 5.94 million jobs are estimated to be impacted by AR and VR worldwide by 2024. 

Source: PWC.

A rapidly growing user base and a flourishing market projected to grow from $54.24 billion in 2023 to $67.66 billion in 2029 displays the increased adoption of VR.

As VR technologies evolve in the upcoming years, they are anticipated to become more accessible, and a greater integration of VR can be expected in different aspects of our lives. 

That was all about VR statistics from my side.

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