The global remote learning market size was valued at USD 111.63 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 321.22 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 15.52% during the forecast period (2023–2031).
Remote learning includes online distance learning certification with various online assessments and video conferencing sessions. K-12 and higher education students take these courses through website-based or application-based mediums. A district should be able to activate and deactivate remote learning based on need; however, the efficacy of transitioning to remote learning is contingent on readiness, technology tools, and overall student support infrastructure. It differs from virtual schools or virtual learning programs, which often follow a formal procedure for establishing a school, adopting an online curriculum, and developing a specific structure to serve students enrolled.
To access instructional content outside the traditional classroom, people use electronic technology known as eLearning. Since remote learning has posted several strides in the adoption of digital learning platforms, the scope of the internet in education has expanded from content delivery to interactive learning platforms, language training, functional skill development, proficiency testing, and higher education pedagogy, video streaming of classes to corporate training, talent management, and e-governance.
Remote learning providers compete against each other to get maximum enrolments. One way to do this is to lower the program's cost. Tuition fees vary greatly, as in the case of regular on-campus programs, with an average of USD 2,000-USD 2,300 per year. They still require enrolment fees, semester fees, and other administrative costs, which add up to around USD 120-USD 240. A student opting for remote learning courses also saves time and travel costs. In addition, this reduces vendor costs since it only has to manage office expenses and administrative costs.
Distance learning helps to lift all the expenses by letting students take advantage of their present living situation and thereby helps them to save thousands of dollars each semester. Another expensive item that students need to buy is textbooks for on-campus degree programs. Remote learning alleviates such costs as students are provided with online study material such as e-textbooks, PPTs, PDFs, and so on, which they can download and keep on their systems. When students choose distance learning instead of traditional on-campus training, these costs can be easily covered, driving the market growth.
International certification is one in which the student community and teaching staff are diverse, representing different parts of the world. International programs are relevant to the present, and a global perspective is upheld through the teaching material. According to US News, the number of university degree programs taught in English is witnessing growth in Europe. Students opting for international courses remotely are interested in diverse career opportunities.
Earlier, it was difficult to acquire a degree from foreign institutes because there were a limited number of courses, there were substantial traveling durations, the cost of courses was high, there was a chance for the student to get homesick, and so on. But with remote learning courses, acquiring degrees from foreign universities has become easier. Universities have started offering various courses, contributing to market growth.
There are some vendors such as Khan Academy, Michigan State University, Harvard University, California Institute of Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and so on that offer courses for free, which poses a direct challenge to other vendors that offer courses on a subscription or on enrolment where they charge tuition fees for courses. This is impacting revenues for these vendors.
Some vendors offer basic-level courses for free and charge money for higher-level courses. In most cases, students undergo the basic level course to get certificates to add to their CVs and do not carry on with advanced courses. This also hinders the revenue generation of vendors offering free basic-level courses. Additionally, several YouTube channels have covered a large portion of the K-12 curriculum for free. Hence, they pose a challenge to vendors such as Byju's, which are selling the same courses for money, restricting the market growth.
Changes in the mode of teaching and learning have led universities and vendors providing degrees and certification courses to offer more variety in their courses that are customized as per student requirements. Vendors like Coursera and Byjus can offer more customized distance learning courses compared to other vendors, due to which their student enrolment is very high compared to other vendors. They provide a variety of courses for K-12 and postsecondary education. These courses are flexible and asynchronous, meaning the courses are recorded and can be accessed at any point.
As customized courses are gaining traction, vendors such as Coursera are partnering with reputed universities such as Harvard, University of Missouri System, University of Wisconsin, and so on to offer such courses to get even higher enrolments of students as partnering with these reputed institutes would mean that the quality of education through distance learning would not be compromised. Only students would be hired by these institutions following course completion, opening up market expansion opportunities.
| Study Period | 2019-2031 | CAGR | 15.52% |
| Historical Period | 2019-2021 | Forecast Period | 2023-2031 |
| Base Year | 2022 | Base Year Market Size | USD 111.63 Billion |
| Forecast Year | 2031 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 321.22 Billion |
| Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Europe |
North America Dominates the Global Market
Based on region, the global remote learning market is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
North America is the most significant global remote learning market shareholder and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 8.69% over the forecast period. North America contributed the largest market share, consisting of the US and Canada as their major revenue drivers. It is expected to grow at the same momentum during the forecast period. The largest market for remote learning is North America since internet availability is high and students have at least a smartphone or a computer/laptop at home. Along with this, more vendors provide remote learning services, and they have a well-developed education system. Furthermore, Brookdale Community College, Northeastern Illinois University, MIT Sloan School of Management, University Canada West, and many more vendors operate in this region. Distance learning courses are English Second Learning (ESL), Digital Business Strategy, Digital Marketing Analytics, and various undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctorate-level courses. There are remote learning courses also offered to the K-12 segment.
Europe is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 16.15% over the forecast period. Europe is a lucrative remote learning market consisting of the UK, Germany, and France, its major revenue drivers. The parts of North Europe and West Europe generate the highest revenue for remote learning. In addition, vendors operating in this region are The Wageningen University, Freie Universitat Berlin, Stockholm University, Trinity College Dublin, University of Oxford, European University Cyprus, Swiss School of Business and Management, International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, EU Business School, and Université Catholique de Louvain. These vendors offer courses in various Bachelors's and Master's degrees programs such as epidemiology, solar energy engineering, healthcare management, MBA, data science, physics, humanities, artificial intelligence, company law, financial analytics, and many more.
Asia-Pacific is anticipated to expand at a significant rate throughout the forecast period. China, Japan, Australia, and India were major drivers for remote learning revenue. The major vendors in Asia-Pacific are Ambow Education, China Distance Education Holdings Limited, New Oriental Education and Technology, TAL, Vedantu, and Byjus, which offer distance learning to the K-12 segment. On the other hand, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Open University of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, GlobalNxt University, Globis University, and so on provide distance learning in higher education and offer courses for various undergraduate and postgraduate programs, such as MBA, health sciences, journalism, law, and social sciences.
In Latin America, remote learning struggles against the traditional education system, which strongly perceives it as low quality. The traditional education system also faces problems of scarce resources, limited teacher capacity, and low social recognition. Due to the low outcome of learning, people perceive low quality. However, remote learning has recently been established in some Latin American countries as a part of K-12 and higher education. Both the public and private sectors have experienced growth in distance learning. It has gained popularity due to low-income family resources, professional job markets, private sector participation in distance programs, and lower communication cost and digital information infrastructure costs. This has led to the creation of universities offering 100% online courses and a break in the traditional form of learning, leading to a new form of assessment and accreditation.
The Middle East and Africa do not have a comprehensive education system due to various factors, such as their education system being different compared to the regions of North America and Europe, inequalities such as gender differences and economic disparities, and less expenditure on education. Due to the lack of a good traditional educational system, remote learning has good scope for growth in this region since remote learning is more affordable than the traditional education system. Though the scope of growth is good for remote learning in this region, it had the least market share compared to other geographies. In addition, some vendors present in this region are Hult International Business School – Middle East Campus (Dubai), Arab Academy for Management, Banking and Financial Sciences (AAMBFS), University of Cape Town (UCT), German University in Cairo, and University of South Africa (UNISA) for higher education, and vendors such as Classera and Mirai offer courses in K-12 education.
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The global remote learning market is bifurcated into learning mode, platform, learning type, and end-user.
Based on the learning mode, the global remote learning market is bifurcated into instructor-led and self-paced learning modes.
The instructor-led learning mode segment dominates the market and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 12.75% over the forecast period. Instructor-led remote learning combines in-person training with intelligent learning components to personalize employee training and collect useful data. It is facilitated by instructors either online or in classrooms. It enables the facilitator and learner to discuss the training material in a group or individually. Instructor-led training can be held in different ways, such as webinars, one-to-one, small groups, lectures, or workshops.
Instructor-led learning provides open dialogue platforms where the instructor can answer questions, and learners can access trainers for instant feedback. Instructor-led training helps build a network by providing the opportunity to interact, learn together, build relationships, and grow as a team. In addition, instructor-led remote learning helps facilitators execute training more effectively. It provides a wider range of tools to empower them to perform training. Integrating virtual classrooms with learning platforms allows instructors to conduct classes and connect participants remotely.
Based on the platform, the global remote learning market is bifurcated into web-based and app-based.
The app-based segment dominates the global market and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 12.21% during the forecast period. App-based remote learning has enabled the productive utilization of time. Usually, students are adaptive to devices such as smartphones and tablets. In this way, they can engage in learning topics of their curriculum. These apps generally have effective puzzles and games. There are live sessions conducted through these mobile applications. During the live session, the student can ask whatever doubts they have on a chatbox, from where the teacher can address them easily. This way, mobile applications ensure that the live classes are interactive. Some vendors like Lynda, Coursera, upGrad, and Byjus allow choosing specific subjects on mobile applications per students' interest (for example, entrance exams, among others). Students always have the option to connect with tutors, where they can raise their queries. By allowing students to choose subjects of their vendors, make sure that app-based remote learning is efficient for all users.
Based on learning type, the global remote learning market is bifurcated into synchronous and asynchronous.
The asynchronous segment owns the highest market share and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 10.99% over the forecast period. Asynchronous distance learning is a type in which the teachers and students interact. Students who choose asynchronous classes instead of synchronous ones can complete them whenever and wherever they wish. Asynchronous distance learning depends on technology such as email, e-courses, online forums, and audio and video recordings. Postal mail is another form of asynchronous learning. Students with a very tight schedule that cannot be adjusted often go for asynchronous distance learning. It is also a good choice for self-motivated students who do not need direct guidance to finish their curriculum or assignments.
Based on end-user, the global remote learning market is divided into K-12 and higher education.
The higher education segment is the most significant contributor to the market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 11.60% over the forecast period. Higher education is undergoing revolutionary changes, part of a larger societal wave. This transformation will affect the sector of higher education for distance learning education. Distance learning in higher education increases access to education as it defies geographical barriers. Distance learning programs can be raised for knowledge-based education as an alternative to the traditional education system, where education can be affordable and accessed easily.
In addition, distance learning is an alternative solution to the traditional education system, where accessibility and affordability can decrease social and economic disparity and transform higher education. The US National Center for Education and Statistics states that out of 19.9 billion college and university students, nearly 6.9 billion choose some form of distance learning for themselves, which constitutes 35%, fueling the market growth.
