How many instructors are there world wide?

[Divor]

I'm writing a paper and would need an approximation of the number of diving instructors in the world. A reference would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[dgreenh]

I don't have a number for you but I would ask the number of active instructors. There are a lot of people that became instructors and have either given up, never got started or just did it for the accomplishment. I know PADI professional numbers are well into the 200,000's. But they are not all Instructors. Some are Divemasters or Assistant Instructors and probably most are not active or current.

 

[SailNaked]

If you need to know how many active instructors there are then ask Vicencia & Buckley Insurance Services, Inc. - Dive Insurance, Dive Boats, Dive Store/Resorts, Professional Liability these folks, if they are active then they must have insurance, there is another company Witherspoon & Associates Scuba Insurance and between the two you should have an accurate approximation of the number of active Scuba instructors there are. Some instructors can get under their shops insurance so you might ask that too when you call them.

Padi Scuba instructor numbers are above 260,000 and they add about 1400 every month (DM & Instructor).

 

[kaerius]

Don't forget DAN if you go with the insurance angle. And there are uninsured instructors, in some countries it's not a requirement(like thailand).

Better numbers may be gained from asking all the various agencies how many teaching status instructors they have...

 

[texdiveguy]

There are a lot of Instructors worldwide!

And about half of those do not need to be teaching as they are poorly trained and incompetent.

This is the same in many other teaching situations, not just Scuba, but does seem we have an awful lot of them.

Sad situation for students whom find themselves under the care of one of these instructors.....Scuba is life threatening at all levels, unlike say tennis or something. To bad the agencies don't POLICE this problem better.

Good luck on the paper!

 

[captndale]

Every year PADI publishes a list of members who achieve milestone anniversaries. These are 5, 10, 15, 20.... years with PADI. Counting the names on that list, I think you could arrive at a reasonable estimate of the number of active PADI members. That might be a good start.

 

[SubMariner]

I'm writing a paper and would need an approximation of the number of diving instructors in the world. A reference would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much in advance.

Might I suggest:

1) Determining who are the major certification Agencies.
2) Contacting them for an approximation of their active Instructor numbers.

Bonne chance,

 

[chrispete]

One problem you may run into is duplication between agencies if you go with agency based counts. I know a lot of instructors who are active with multiple agencies.