Worldwide skydiving population

[autoset 0]

Is there a way to know these numbers? At least an estimate of how many skydivers/parachuters are there in the world? (not including military units?)

Another thing, In your opinion do you prefer the sport to grow as much as possible or want it to stay "underground"?

IMO the sport should stay as small, not too small that the parachute industries won't invest in new projects concerning their products, inventions, etc... and not too big that the goverment will start to regulate everything just because the sport has become a money-making machine. Whatever country you're from, if the goverment puts its hands on something, you know nothing good can happen.

EDIT: Isn't the USA making BASE jumping a felony already or something like that?

[Scoop 0]

Skydiving isn't underground at all, we even have our own 'tourists' (tandem passengers).

[autoset 0]

You know what I meant with "underground", there are still people out there that think skydivers are loco in the head.

[darkwing 5]

I tell people that you find the numbers for the US, and double it, to get the number whole world. It is an easy estimate that way, and I bet not too far off.

WHen asking for this number how do you count one-time tandem passengers? There are DZs in the world that do thousands of them a year.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[iamsam 0]

Quote

EDIT: Isn't the USA making BASE jumping a felony already or something like that?

man if you've read that post in the BASE forum, read the rest of the thread. It's best just left unsaid.

but what do I know

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I have some ideas about this. While there are around 35,000 people in the USA who pay dues to USPA, I would bet you that the actual number of active participants is half that number. I don't think there are 35,000 active skydivers in the whole world. Seriously.

[iamsam 0]

Why don't we make a list and see?

OK I'll start it -


List of active skydivers worldwide
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

1. Sam

but what do I know

[L.O. 0]

Please expound apon your definition of what you classify as skydiving population.

If you include everyone who has one jump
thats one number. If you include only those who make 50+ a year thats a different number and if you go to those who make 200+the number becomes infinitely smaller.

Active in my book is 150 a year and I bet there aren't more then a few thousand of those.

I wish the sport was the way it used to be, low profile ,low profit, high friendship. It remains full of friends but the low profile and low profit are getting much more difficult to find.

HPDBs, I hate those guys.
AFB, charter member.

[valcore 0]

Quote

Why don't we make a list and see?

OK I'll start it -


List of active skydivers worldwide
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

1. Sam

2. Darin

The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help’. ~Ronald Reagan

30,000,000 legal firearm owners killed no one yesterday.

[countzero 7]

why not contact the uspa and it's similar organizations through out the world. and see if they'll you how many liscenses they've issued. that should give you a decent ballpark #.

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[iamsam 0]

I've not made 150 jumps in a year, but I'd consider myself 'active'. As in I'll be jumping this year, next year and so on and on. When my life affords it I hope to be making 150+ jumps a year but I wouldn't consider myself in hibernation until then ?!

but what do I know

[howardwhite 6]

Quote

why not contact the uspa and it's similar organizations through out the world. and see if they'll you how many liscenses they've issued. that should give you a decent ballpark #.

Based on the numbers in the February Parachutist, USPA has issued > 144,350 licenses. Many who received those licenses are dead, many more are inactive. Not a very useful figure.

USPA membership is currently ~31,000.

HW

[Inthebuff 0]

I'd be I currently jump every month.
Now I have all my own gear and have spent all the big bucks on AFF & FS1 coaching the ,sport has peaked financially for me and is now a lot cheaper.
No more expensive gear rental,got my FS1 so not looking for any coaching at the moment.
I want to be real good on my belly before I think about free flying.

The cheaper it is,the more I'll jump.
Looking forward to the 100 to 200 range,I reckon I'll learn a lot.

***********************************
Fly Like Zie Eagle, Not Like Zie Chicken !
Good advice from an instructor I know.

[sagan 0]

Quote

Based on the numbers in the February Parachutist, USPA has issued > 144,350 licenses.

Is that total # of licenses? If so that would mean everyone that has a D may be counted up to 4 times, a, b, c, d (sing it now!) right?

I was going to ask about the 31K figure too, but it sounds like those are individual memberships so assume some of those people don't jump anymore or actively and others that might be interested in the sport (pilots and riggers in some cases come to mind) and halving it as suggested may be a good conservative guess.

Then add up the dz's in the world and compare that to the US number. Make an assumption that there's probably more "bigger" dz's in the us then elsewhere and then make an adjustment to the 15.5K figure that you have from the US.

Sorry I love making estimations and wild conjectures (they're usually way off )

-Patrick

[Tonto 1]

Ah. Active..

Look at the 50 year olds going for their annual medical that refer to themselves as "active" and in "excellent" health.

We all like to think we're "active." I'm averaging over 230 dives a year for 22 years. The last calender month I never did a jump in was March 1987, and that's cos my femur was broken, but there are many, many skydivers more active than I am.

I think it's all what you consider active. I'm a weekend only jumper, so 230 a year for 22 years indicated a degree of commitment, but I doubt I would be considered "active" by those who have 9000 dives in 10 years.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Legs 0]

Hi all,

Sky diving numbers should include everyone taking part in the sport except tourists. I jump around 100 jumps a year because of lifes distractions (does this make me inactive?). If I were a millionaire with no family I would find a way to jump every day.
Paid up individuals are each important to the sport, wether they jump once per month or 60 times per week.

With love in Christ

[voltage 0]

I really doubt that. I think it is more than that.

I know the statistics from Germany and there are more than 12000 skydivers licenced and at least 6700 licences are known to be "active" (have been recently updated).

Source: http://www.fallschirmsportverband.de/downloads/Sicherheitstagung_2005/1-Zahlen-Statistik-UnfallSituation-Bastuck.pdf

And this is only Germany.

I'd like to think that the number of dropzones listed here might be a good indicator and taken only European dropzones outnumber US dropzones already, and US dropzones are more likely to be listed here.

I think it is more likely US numbers multiplied by 3.

[darkwing 5]

Quote

I really doubt that. I think it is more than that.

Hey, I said an estimate. with your number, I'm still within 50%!

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[GPSJane 0]

It's not how many jumps you do per year but just that you have jumped in the last say month or 3 month or whatever.

As some others have commented some of us do less jumps but we still jump often.

So those who are paid up members of the relevant organisation and have jumped in the paid for period would seem about right. It's not how active you are but just that you are.
Surely when you become properly inactive and are not jumping anymore, you don't bother to pay your membership fees? I wouldn't!

Just my 2 cents worth :)

Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

[howardwhite 6]

Quote

Quote

Based on the numbers in the February Parachutist, USPA has issued > 144,350 licenses.

Is that total # of licenses? If so that would mean everyone that has a D may be counted up to 4 times, a, b, c, d (sing it now!) right?

It's just simple addition. You can get a license without having held a lower one, so long as you meet the qualifications. That's why the number of Cs (35718) is greater than the number of Bs (29555). You don't have enough data to make any meaningful guess about the number of jumpers represented.

HW

[chuteless 1]

when I started jumping in Canmada in 1962, there was 250 jumpers in this country.

If you want the total world numbers, send emails to the many organizations and ask their total membership.

[kkeenan 14]

Quote

WHen asking for this number how do you count one-time tandem passengers?

That brings up an old question. "Are tandem passengers really skydivers ?" IMO they are not.

Kevin

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Quote

when I started jumping in Canmada in 1962, there was 250 jumpers in this country.

If you want the total world numbers, send emails to the many organizations and ask their total membership.

Again: not accurate. While there might be ~35,000 people in the USA who still pay dues in our association, I don't think more than 50% of those people are "active" skydivers. That's the problem. Yes, you might get the numbers of dues-paying members from every country that has an association, but I don't believe for a minute that those numbers are accurate representations of how many people still actually skydive with enough regularity to be considered "active" or even "current."

[FallingDuck 0]

I would like to see the sport grow to the point that people loose the misconceptions about it.

As for actual numbers you could ask the USPA, FAI, and the BPA. That would cover the majority of the western world.

[bob.dino 1]

The APF will not issue a Sporting Licence unless the bearer has met currency requirements (from memory 6-12 jumps in the last year). Those that don't jump any more can still stay as associate members.