2012 ICF Global Coaching Study (Exective Summary)

This is a summary of the findings from the 2012 ICF Global Coaching Study. The study was commissioned in 2011 by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers.


In late 2006, the ICF commissioned its first ever global industry study to provide a baseline picture of the profession; to identify what coaches saw as the major challenges; and to estimate the size of the profession. When the benchmark Final Report was ultimately released, the 2007 ICF Global Coaching Study included responses from 5,415 coaches living in 73 different countries – among them, more than 1,500 non-ICF member coaches.


Since then, the landscape of professional coaching has evolved in terms of the number of coaches worldwide, global revenue, and perhaps even the demographic profile of the coach.