The State of Scuba Diving 2026 - A Data-Driven Report

Overview: The Numbers Behind Global Scuba Diving

DivePlnr has catalogued the largest open database of dive destinations in the world. As of 2026, that database covers 27,804 dive sites across 116 countries, 421 distinct diving regions, and 7,409 dive centres. The marine life database tracks 13,589 species, with formal conservation assessments for 2,878 of them.

These are not estimates or aggregated third-party figures. Every number in this report is drawn directly from verified dive destination data, ocean condition measurements, and biological records in the DivePlnr database.

Global Overview

Scuba diving infrastructure is unevenly distributed around the planet, with sharp concentrations in tropical maritime regions and surprising depth in northern European waters. The United Kingdom - owing primarily to its extensive coastline, wreck-rich history, and accessible cold-water diving - holds more catalogued dive sites than any other single country in our database.

Key global figures at a glance

• 27,804 catalogued dive sites worldwide
• 116 countries with active dive infrastructure
• 421 distinct diving sub-regions
• 7,409 dive centres and diving operations
• 13,589 marine species documented at these sites
• 11 major world ocean regions covered

Top Destinations: Countries by Dive Site Count

The following table ranks the top 10 countries by the number of catalogued dive sites. The United Kingdom's position reflects its disproportionately large inventory of wreck dives - from World War II vessels to ancient Roman amphora sites - spread across its extended Atlantic and North Sea coastlines. Southeast Asian nations dominate the mid-table rankings, reflecting the Indo-Pacific's unparalleled reef biodiversity.

#	Country	Dive Sites
1	United Kingdom	6,144
2	United States	1,328
3	Indonesia	1,279
4	Denmark	1,202
5	Philippines	1,151
6	Australia	1,047
7	Maldives	792
8	Spain	786
9	Italy	676
10	Croatia	644

Top Destinations: Sub-Regions by Dive Site Count

At a more granular level, Cornwall and Devon in the UK accounts for 2,188 catalogued sites alone - more than many entire countries. This reflects the area's geology (dramatic granite headlands and submerged reefs), its position on major shipping lanes, and centuries of maritime activity that have left the seabed dotted with wrecks.

#	Sub-Region	Country	Dive Sites
1	Cornwall & Devon	United Kingdom	2,188
2	Northumberland & Northeast	United Kingdom	1,247
3	Scottish West Coast	United Kingdom	1,021
4	Scottish East Coast & Borders	United Kingdom	906
5	Scapa Flow, Orkney	United Kingdom	782
6	North Sea Coast	Denmark	769
7	Mar del Plata	Argentina	445
8	Marseille & Calanques	France	443
9	Bornholm	Denmark	433
10	Istria Peninsula	Croatia	393

What Divers Explore: Site Types

The breakdown of dive site types reveals a striking pattern: wrecks are the dominant site category by a significant margin, accounting for more catalogued dives than reefs, walls, caves, pinnacles, and drift sites combined.

• Wreck dives: 12,446 sites (45% of all catalogued sites)
• Reef dives: 5,101 sites
• Cave dives: 612 sites
• Wall dives: 557 sites
• Pinnacle dives: 481 sites
• Drift dives: 304 sites
• Muck dives: 67 sites
• Cenotes: 65 sites

Of the 7,362 wrecks with a confirmed date of sinking, the average wreck year is 1941. The most recent catalogued wreck dates to 2024.

Who is diving what

Among sites with a difficulty rating, 72% are classified as beginner-accessible, with 24% rated intermediate and 4% requiring advanced or expert certification. The accessible majority reflects the industry's reliance on entry-level divers as its primary market.

Marine Biodiversity: The Most Species-Rich Waters on Earth

Our database links marine species observation records to specific diving sub-regions, drawing on global biological datasets. The results confirm what marine biologists have long maintained: the Indo-Pacific Coral Triangle, spanning the Philippines, Indonesia, and surrounding waters, holds a concentration of marine life with no equivalent anywhere else on Earth.

#	Sub-Region	Country	Species Documented
1	Visayas	Philippines	2,226
2	Bali	Indonesia	2,013
3	Kalpitiya & Northwest	Sri Lanka	2,009
4	Grand Lagoon	New Caledonia	2,005
5	Dumaguete	Philippines	1,962
6	Green Island	Taiwan	1,914
7	Kenting National Park	Taiwan	1,887
8	Peleliu & Angaur	Palau	1,828
9	Isla de la Juventud	Cuba	1,764
10	Bimini	Bahamas	1,736

The Visayas in the Philippines leads with 2,226 documented species, followed by Bali with 2,013 and Kalpitiya in Sri Lanka with 2,009. It is worth noting that Caribbean and Red Sea destinations, while globally celebrated, do not appear in the top ten - an indication of how genuinely extreme Indo-Pacific diversity is by comparison.

Conservation Status: What We Are at Risk of Losing

Of the 2,878 species in our database with a formal IUCN Red List assessment, the picture is concerning. 16% are classified as threatened (Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered).

• Least Concern (LC): 2,219 species
• Data Deficient (DD): 119 species - not enough data to assess threat level
• Near Threatened (NT): 77 species
• Vulnerable (VU): 195 species
• Endangered (EN): 223 species
• Critically Endangered (CR): 45 species

That 45 Critically Endangered species include the Coelacanth - a fish thought extinct for 65 million years before its rediscovery in 1938 - as well as multiple ray and guitarfish species that divers regularly encounter in shallow, accessible waters. The 119 Data Deficient species represent a research gap as much as a conservation one: we cannot protect what we have not yet properly counted.

The full conservation picture is available on our conservation page.

Ocean Conditions: Water Temperatures by Region

Water temperature is the single variable most correlated with diver destination choice, coral reef health, and marine species distribution. The following table shows average annual sea surface temperatures across the 11 global diving regions in our database, derived from multi-year ocean condition records covering 304 sub-regions.

Region	Average Temp	Range
Southeast Asia	29.2C	24.1C - 31.4C
Central & South Pacific	28.9C	26.3C - 31.0C
Central America	28.5C	26.8C - 30.3C
Indian Ocean & East Africa	28.2C	18.9C - 30.9C
Caribbean	27.4C	24.0C - 30.8C
Red Sea & Middle East	25.5C	18.0C - 32.0C
South America	24.2C	11.0C - 30.2C
Australasia	21.5C	9.6C - 29.5C
East Asia	21.3C	11.7C - 29.9C
North America	21.0C	0.3C - 31.5C
Mediterranean & Europe	15.1C	0.6C - 28.7C

Southeast Asia tops the table at an average 29.2C, closely followed by the Central and South Pacific at 28.9C. Mediterranean and European waters average 15.1C - cold by tropical standards, but with the trade-off of exceptional visibility, wreck density, and kelp forest ecosystems found nowhere else.

The widest temperature range occurs in North America (0.3C to 31.5C), reflecting the contrast between Arctic-influenced waters off Alaska and warm Gulf of Mexico dive sites off Florida and the Yucatan.

Dive Industry Infrastructure

The 7,409 dive centres in our database represent the commercial backbone of recreational scuba diving globally. These are the operations that certify new divers, run daily boat trips, fill tanks, and maintain the equipment rental chains that keep the sport accessible.

Centres by region

Region	Dive Centres
Mediterranean & Europe	2,178
Southeast Asia	1,536
North America	737
Indian Ocean & East Africa	671
East Asia	592
Red Sea & Middle East	488
Caribbean	341
South America	249
Australasia	211
Central & South Pacific	207
Central America	199

Certification agency breakdown

Of the 4,012 centres with confirmed certification agency data:

• PADI-affiliated: 3,490 centres (87%)
• SSI-affiliated: 559 centres
• CMAS-affiliated: 58 centres
• NAUI-affiliated: 27 centres

PADI's 87% share of identified affiliations confirms its position as the dominant certification body in recreational scuba. SSI holds a meaningful secondary position, particularly in European markets where it has historically competed more effectively with PADI than in Southeast Asia or the Caribbean.

Methodology

All figures in this report are drawn from the DivePlnr database as of May 2026. Dive site data is sourced from a combination of open geographic databases, dive operator submissions, and structured data extraction from verified dive directories. Marine species occurrence records are linked to sub-regions based on verified biological observation data. Conservation status assessments are sourced from the IUCN Red List. Ocean temperature data is derived from historical marine condition records across multi-year measurement periods.

This report will be updated annually. For the full database, explore the marine species database, conservation data, and dive destination pages for any of the 116 countries covered.