61 Online Learning Statistics to Know in 2023

Online learning is on the rise now. Some resources tell you that it’s because the education sector shifted to digital classes after the pandemic, but the reason is far more prosaic:

eLearning is a powerful business tool.

It’s already a multi-billion dollar industry, and online learning statistics predict that online learning will reach $350 billion by 2025. Despite the skepticism among some educational sector representatives, the data shows that eLearning calls the shots.

In this article, EasyEssay gathered 61 statistics about online learning for you to get insights into this sector, better understand its landscape, and see if it’s worth stepping into it. All the references are at the bottom of the post.

Online Learning Predictions and Trends

First and foremost, let’s take a look at statistics on online learning’s predictions and trends:

1. The global eLearning market will hit $350 billion by 2025. It happens thanks to a huge potential reach: Everyone from a college student to a corporate professional can be a customer.

2. Speaking of the global corporate eLearning market, it’s predicted to reach $44.6 billion by 2027. That’s almost double the 2021 market value, which was $22.5 billion.

3. Other sources are even more optimistic, predicting corporate eLearning growth by over 250% by 2026, hitting $49.87 billion that year.

4. For the near future, the corporate eLearning market will hit $38.09 billion by 2024. The reason is the active online training employees undergo in companies: workshops, conferences, recruitment training, etc.

5. Mobile learning market will reach $80 billion by 2027. It’s the fastest-growing sector in online learning: In 2015, it was just $8 billion and, reaching $22 billion in 2020.

6. AR/VR educational software’s revenue will grow by $700 million in 2025. Niches like online education, sales, games, and medicine already use these techs actively.

7. The MOOC (massive open online course) market will grow by 40% by 2027. Online courses are popular in all niches now: People want and are ready to learn new things or grow their skills.

8. The LMS (learning management systems) market is expected to grow by 14.2% between 2023 and 2029. It will reach $40.95 billion by then. 

9. 70% of the world’s eLearning market is the USA and Europe. These regions are most active, investing in the online education industry’s growth.

10. 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. With that in mind, organizations will work harder on identifying skill gaps and offer the corresponding training to the staff.

11. With the focus on employee growth (46%) and closing the skill gaps (61%), 2 in 5 Fortune 500 companies already use eLearning solutions. 44% of them do that to improve employee engagement.

12. eLearning platforms’ user penetration will hit 16.6% by 2027. In 2023, it’s 11.6%.

13. Almost half (46%) of online learners prefer business-related courses. The most popular niches are health and computer science.

14. eLearning consumes 90% less energy and produces 85% fewer CO2 emissions than face-to-face training. Such numbers encourage universities and course makers to choose online learning and address global climate change concerns this way.

15. By 2027, the number of online learning platform users will reach 57 million.

Online School and Higher Education Statistics

While educational institutions have some negative statistics about online learning (it remains challenging to keep online students engaged and control their academic integrity), the overall online class statistics are promising for the niche.

Below are the most fundamental statistics about online learning in schools and higher ed institutions.

16. 57% of US students are more optimistic about eLearning today than before Covid-19. While it was a challenge for most to balance their study with the rest of their lives, now students say they’ve changed their opinion.

17. For 81% of college students, online learning helped with the improvement of their grades. They admit eLearning’s positive impact on their academic results.

18. 73% of US students want to continue taking online classes, even though the pandemic is over. They admit they would like to continue part of their education online.

19. The lack of training was the barrier for 41% of US teachers to increase the use of ed tech in their classrooms. It was especially true for older teachers who tended to practice traditional, in-class learning strategies with their mentees.

20. Online learning classes promise a 72% succession rate compared to standard teaching.

21. 40% of college students admit eLearning is more efficient than in-person training. They say that online modules are easier for them to understand. (Up to 60% of students retain more material when learning online.)

22. Structured lessons and more personalized teaching are among the top benefits of eLearning for 36% of students.

23. 55% of students choose online learning because it’s more economical than college. Two other top factors in choosing eLearning are school accreditation and specialization within a degree.

24. For 43% of US college students, digital technologies are super helpful for doing homework. Online libraries and tons of available ed resources assist here.

25. 20% of students report they complete 100% of their coursework, using a smartphone or a tablet. It’s a signal for online course creators to pay attention to their products’ mobile-friendliness if they want to improve retention rates among college students.

26. 33% of school administrators continue offering online courses even after their institutions have reopened.

27. Canvas appeared as the favorite LMS for 36.7% of educational institutions. Blackboard takes second place, with 26.8% choosing it for their online classes.

28. In 2020, over 90,000 schools in 20 countries used Zoom to hold their online classes. The pandemic and the rise in eLearning helped the company increase the number of their daily users by 2000%!

29. The top subject for college eLearning is business, enrolling 26% of undergrads and 30% of graduate students. The other leading categories include medicine and computers.

Corporate eLearning Statistics

And now, to the statistics for online learning in the corporate sector. What do organizations think about educating and training their employees? What do eLearning statistics have to say about that?

30. 90% of companies use online learning for employees today, while it was only 4% of them back in the 1990s.

31. At the same time, soft skills development is the #1 eLearning priority here. Corporate talent developers organize training on teamwork, critical thinking, and time management for their employees. As for hard skills, cloud computing and statistical analysis are in demand.

32. 51% of organizations use online learning to improve employee morale. They believe it will help with job satisfaction and longevity.

33. More than 40% of companies from Fortune 500 use eLearning to improve employees’ productivity and engagement.

34. Indeed, eLearning improves employee productivity by up to 25%. Online training makes them feel more motivated and engaged in work processes.

35. 218% higher revenue: It’s the number the companies with comprehensive training programs report. (42% of US companies practicing eLearning report higher income.)

36. 80% of employees want the corporate courses to be shorter. They say they are ready to learn more frequently but in more concise lessons.

37. At the same time,  54% of employees are ready to spend more time learning. They are happy to get course recommendations from managers, to know which one is worth their effort.

38. 75% of employees rely on online training tools to ensure their skills remain up to date. They admit that eLearning helps them perform better. 

39. 58% of employees want to learn at their own pace, choosing online courses with multiple but shorter lessons. 68% prefer to learn at work.

40. 60% of organizations use social learning strategies, and it brings better outcomes: The course completion rate increases to 85%.

41. 72% of companies consider online education their competitive advantage. They specify it as a perk in job descriptions to hook talents.

42. 73% of L&D experts plan to craft more content in the upcoming years. They admit the need for their companies to adopt new training techniques and methods.

43. The top goal of corporate eLearning is to close the skills gap among employees. Udemy’s survey says that it’s the top priority for 61% of Learning & Development experts. Other goals include “driving organizational growth” (46%) and “improving engagement” (44%).

44. Corporate learning takes 40-60% less time to complete, which makes it energy-saving and motivating for employees to complete. 

45. Speaking of motivation: Online learning drives engagement by up to 18%, helping employees get involved in a company’s mission.

46. While 82% of employees say that interactive videos hold their attention during a course, 72% admit they don’t give videos their full attention. Given that, it’s critical to focus on interactive elements when creating a course.

47. 83% of global employees feel they have a skills gap, and they are ready to close it with online training. (62% of employees admit they are personally affected by that gap.)

Online Courses Statistics

The list of statistics online learning won’t be complete with no numbers on MOOC (massive open online courses) and some insights for online course creators.

So, here we go:

48. 220 million have subscribed to at least one online course by 2023. Most universities offer them now, and platforms like Udemy and Coursera grow in popularity among experts in all niches.

49. In 2023, the revenue from online learning platforms is expected to hit $25.55 billion.

50. Udemy ranks the #1 online learning platform, having a 10+ million active student database. (They have 35 million subscribers overall.)

51. 90% of Udemy’s courses aren’t free of charge.

52. Users are more likely to complete paid online courses than free ones. The monetary investment serves as motivation for people to go the distance.

53. The second most visited online learning platform is Teachable, with 23 million users.

54. 52% of people who sign up for online courses don’t participate in the material.

55. With over 13 million users and 35,000+ classes, SkillShare is the third one. The top 500 teachers there have an average monthly revenue of $2,000.

56. For those willing to create an online course, get ready to spend from $140 to $10,770. The price depends on many factors (design, certification, etc.), but the average cost of online course creation is not that huge: $177.

57. The highest average course price — $234 — comes for the business and marketing industry.

58. 53% of online course creators spend about three months crafting their products. 

59. 58% of online course makers use social media as the #1 channel for promoting their products. It’s where they have a big chance of attracting students and young specialists to their courses.

60. Up to 20% of online courses are for Technology. It’s also the #1 subject among the top 100 free online courses.

61. An average price users spend for an online course is $137.

In a Word

So, now you have it, the complete list of online learning statistics for 2023 and beyond. In short:

• eLearning in both educational and corporate fields is on the rise.
• It takes up to three months and around $200 to create an online course.
• Students and employees are ready to learn online, admitting their motivation and engagement to grow when they go through the course at their own pace.
• Technology and business subjects are in the highest demand, but L&D professionals also pay attention to online training for soft skills development.
• Users are more likely to complete paid online courses than free ones.

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