47 E-Learning/Online Learning Statistics

Did you know that e-learning increases retention rates by 25% to 60%?

steven zauderer
Steven Zauderer
June 30, 2023
5
min read

Top 10 E-Learning Statistics

  • Worldwide, the e-learning market size is expected to be worth $325 billion by the year 2025.
  • 77% of American corporations used e-learning in 2017, but 98% of them put it within their practices in 2020.
  • The American e-learning industry is anticipated to increase growth by $12.81 billion by 2024.
  • Online learning increases retention rates of students between 25% to 60%.
  • The private e-learning industry is expected to see a monetary increase of $38.09 billion from 2020 to 2024.
  • Online learning has shown rises in income for 42% of American companies.
  • A set of 2,500 businesses learned that those with online training programs of some sort have a 218% greater revenue for each worker and profit margin increases of 24%.
  • After making the switch to e-learning, the tech giant IBM saved about $200 million.
  • 2 out of 5 businesses listed in the Fortune 500 are currently using e-learning applications.
  • 5.4 million college students, comprising 74% of the entire population, took one or more classes online in 2020.

E-Learning Industry Statistics

Statistic Number
Number of students enrolled in online learning programs 6.7 million
Percentage of college students taking at least one online course 32%
Number of instructors teaching online courses 3.9 million
Percentage of post-secondary students who prefer online courses 80%
Percentage of students who feel they learn better in an online setting 58%
Average number of hours spent on an online course 11.5
Percentage of students who said they would take an online course again 76%
Average student completion rate for online courses 70%
where is the e-learning industry located
  • Most of the worldwide global e-learning industry is located in the United States and Europe.
  • In Asia-Pacific, the e-learning industry is anticipated to grow in popularity by 11% by the year 2026.
  • In Asia, the e-learning market will surpass $90 billion by the year 2026.
  • The greatest amount of users relying on remote learning in 2021 was from the United States.
  • Since 2021, Ireland has had the largest amount of people within the European Union that are actively taking online courses.
  • Almost 4,000 colleges and universities in the US have adjusted to e-learning since 2020.
  • In 2020, 63% of colleges and universities made large investments in using and promoting e-learning.
  • 75% of American schools are making plans to conduct all educational operations online since 2021.
  • About 33% of university students are currently taking at least one online course.
  • Since 2020, 40% of undergraduates in America rely on their phones and tablets to finish most of their studies.
students rely on smartphones and tablets to study

General E-Learning Statistics

elearning market size
  • Worldwide, the e-learning market is expected to be worth $325 billion by the year 2025.
  • Worldwide markets showing 30% yearly growth in their market increases are all located in Asia, including Thailand, China, India, and the Philippines.
  • From 2020 until 2025, the e-learning market will have a 200% increase in usage.
  • Asia is forecasted to have a 20% yearly rise in revenue in the e-learning market.
  • In 2020, mobile e-learning grew up to $38 billion. Yet between 2017 and 2022, growth is predicted to rise as high as $6 billion.
  • Through greater use of scheduled learning, the e-learning market was expected to decrease in 2021.
  • Some of the leading innovators paving the way for virtual classes can be found in companies making improvements in augmented reality and virtual reality, with $300 million in revenue growth since 2020.
  • In 2018, microlearning, a smaller version of e-learning, made up 69.7% of e-learning instances.
  • Up to 60% of web users have attempted e-learning at some point. This is due to the comfort of using it at their discretion.
  • 50% of students and  80% of businesses have relied on online learning applications.
  • Web learning accounts for 40% to 60% less time spent by workers and students than ordinary learning methods take.
  • Most businesses are using e-learning more than ever before, with 42% of organizations witnessing an increase in revenue for doing so.
more businesses are using e-learning than ever before
e-learning can cause increased rates of employee engagement
  • If more businesses moved to e-learning, there could be an 18% increase in employee engagement.
  • The Europeans Higher Education Area has 48 nations that are seeking e-learning alternatives for boosting the way students learn.
  • The retention rate of people that use e-learning is between 25% and 60%, face-to-face tutoring has a retention rate between 8% to 10%.
  • Compliance training is done by 28% of companies through e-learning or online training programs.
  • 75% of schools in 2021 have plans to increase their online operations. Before this, 57% of American students relied on digital tools to complete lessons. 45% of them were children in elementary school and 64% were in middle school. 63% were high school students.
  • 80% of schools buy or plan to buy more technology for their students, which includes e-learning materials.
  • 98% of colleges and universities have moved classes online since 2020.
  • Before 2020, 19.5% of undergraduate students took one or more online courses.
  • 49% of college professors view online learning in a favorable light.
  • Since 2020, up to 98% of learning at the corporate level is done through online learning.
  • Students have boosted their ability to take in 25% to 60% more information through the use of e-learning.
  • A 30% rise in failing grades is due to some students using e-learning.
  • 25% to 33% of students don't have the tools needed to access e-learning resources, creating a divide between social classes and income.
student that don't have access to e-learning resources

E-Learning Trends

e-learning market size by 2026
  • The worldwide e-learning industry is set to reach $457.8 billion by the year 2026.
  • 2 out of 5 Fortune 500 organizations use e-learning.
  • 70% of students believe online classes are more useful than going to classes the traditional way.
  • Online learning can potentially help students take in up to 60% more information.
  • In 2020, only 2% of US organizations didn't rely on e-learning.
  • Up to 90% less energy and 85%, less carbon dioxide emissions have been accounted for the higher use of e-learning on college campuses.
  • E-learning has boosted incomes for 42% of American businesses.
  • Online learning boosts the performance of employees by 15% to 25%, according to experts in the medical field.

Online Learning vs. Face-to-Face Learning Statistics

  • Retention rates are boosted by 25% to 60% due to online learning.
  • Retention rates of face-to-face learning boosted learning by only 8% to 10%. This is due to students having more control over the way they learn.
  • A recent study found that providing online learning courses leave less of a carbon footprint, using 90% less energy consumption and putting out 85% fewer carbon emissions per individual than face-to-face training does.
  • There are 48% of undergraduate and graduate students feel that e-learning is as effective as face-to-face learning.
  • In late 2020, about 75% of university students took one or more college courses through e-learning tools.
  • 46% of college students took their online entirely online.
  • There 29% of students took some college courses online, but not all.
  • Up to 26% of students didn't take any college courses on the internet, relying on instead on face-to-face instruction.
  • Online learning was approved by 37% of students, who feel that it's better than taking face-to-face courses.
  • Only 15% of students thought that online courses weren't impactful.
  • 30% of undergraduates and 42% of graduate students prefer e-learning courses over in-person learning.
  • There is an average of 25% to 60% of students who can retain more knowledge when taking courses online. Face-to-face learning is between 8% and 10%.
  • 40% to 80% less time is needed in teaching students online than doing so in a traditional classroom setting.
  • In 2020, there were 5.4 million college students that took one or more online courses.
number of college students that take online classes
  • The rates of completing a course online are lower for students by rates of up to 22%.
  • Online learning has seen an increase in failing grades for some students taking middle school classes.
  • 98% of students with disabilities have had failing grades when taking courses online.
  • More than 1 out of 10 colleges have entirely online-based courses.
  • Online colleges have a student body numbering 2.8 million people.
  • For online colleges, the average cost for every credit hour is $516.
  • When fees are included, 54% of colleges and universities have students taking online courses paying more to attend courses than face-to-face students spend.
  • 1 out of 3 teachers has a difficult time preparing for work in a traditional classroom setting.
percentage of teachers with a difficult time preparing for class


  • In annual reportings, 95% of college alumni suggested online learning over face-to-face learning.
  • Up to 43% of school administrators agreed to move forward with high rates of remote e-learning options for students to use after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • About 75% of college undergraduates took one or more courses through an online application, though 71% of graduate students did the same.
  • 76% of students attending four-year colleges and universities took one or more courses online, while 69% of students at a two-year took online courses.
  • 77% of students attending public universities take at least one e-learning course. However, 68% of private college students took at least one course online.
percentage of university students taking at least one e-learning course

References

  1. https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjet.13102
  2. https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-021-02909-z
  3. https://bau.edu/blog/online-learning-statistics/
  4. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf