ANALYSIS How many boats there are in the world, where they are, and who uses them most

How many boats are there in the world? What are the countries where people sail the most? And are there more sailboats or powerboats? Here is some data from the international yachting world…

How many boats are there in the world?

There are 33 million boats worldwide, and just under half are in the United States, nearly 16 million. But they are not
Americans the ones who like to sail the most, Canadians lead the league in number of boats relative to population: for every 1,000 inhabitants they own 234 boats. Out of a total population of nearly 37 million, they own a total fleet of as many as 8.6 million. At the bottom of the list of boaters are the Chinese, who own only 116,475 boats with a population of nearly 1,400,000,000 (1.4 billion). These are the results of our survey taken from data published by ICOMIA, the world association that brings together marine manufacturers.

How many boats are there in Italy?

Italy is among the countries with the most boats in the world, 577,513, but we are not among those who “like” sailing the most. In Italy, according to this estimate, there are just under 9 boats per 1,000 inhabitants.

In which countries do people browse the most?

In the TOP 10, Canadians lead with a ratio of 234 boats per 1,000 population. But if we look at the graph it also clearly emerges how the Nordic countries (we also include Canada) are almost all in the top 10. Finland, Norway, and Sweden range between 75 and 210 boats per thousand inhabitants. The only two Mediterranean countries that make it into the top 10 are Croatia (25 boats per thousand inhabitants) and Greece (17 boats per thousand inhabitants).

Are there more sailboats or motor boats?

Power boats are a huge part of the market, with outboard-powered boats taking the lion’s share. Inboard-powered boats account for 12 percent, while sailboats are just 8 percent.

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