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.
The following table details the number of VR users in the United States over the years.
| Year | Number Of VR Users In The United States |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 43.4 million |
| 2020 | 50.7 million |
| 2021 | 61.5 million |
| 2022 | 65.0 million |
| 2023 | 68.9 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 Adoption | Percentage Of Companies |
|---|---|
| No activity | 9% |
| Research | 13% |
| Planning | 17% |
| Paused | 11% |
| Integrating into our strategy | 30% |
| Part of our Strategy | 21% |
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 floors | 60% |
| Virtual customer visits | 53% |
| Design and product engineering | 53% |
| Train employees | 26% |
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 Device | Percentage Of VR Device Owners |
|---|---|
| Oculus | 49% |
| Sony Playstation | 31% |
| HTC Vive | 12% |
| Valvex Index | 6% |
| Other | 14% |
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.
The following table displays the VR market size over the years.
| Year | VR 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.
The following table displays the VR headset market size over the years.
| Year | VR 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 |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.7% |
| 2022 | 1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.3% |
| 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.
| Year | Virtual 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 Gamers | Avid Gamers | Casual Gamers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting new people/ Socializing | 51% | 48% | 36% |
| Watching documentaries/ entertainment videos | 49% | 48% | 60% |
| Attending live events | 38% | 30% | 23% |
| Travelling to different world locations virtually | 36% | 31% | 28% |
| Attending educational classes or work-related events | 31% | 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.
