Singing & Health Research

Singing statistics you need to know in 2026

By Ingrid Moss, Founder of Vocal Refresh · Last updated June 14, 2026

Singing gets studied more than most wellbeing activities, partly because it is easy to study: you can swab someone's saliva before and after a choir rehearsal and see what moved. The figures below cover who sings, and what singing does to mood, stress hormones, immune markers, the lungs and social bonding. Sources include the World Health Organization, Chorus America, the Royal College of Music, the British Journal of Psychiatry and the University of Oxford. Each figure lists its original source and year, because a lot of the numbers floating around online have been copied so many times the trail is gone.

Key singing statistics

  1. More than 54 million Americans sing in choruses, making choral singing the most popular form of participatory performing art in the US.Chorus America, Chorus Impact Study, 2019
  2. One hour of choir singing was associated with lower cortisol and higher immune-system cytokines, in a study of 193 choir members.Tenovus Cancer Care & Royal College of Music, ecancermedicalscience, 2016
  3. The WHO's first evidence review on arts and health mapped over 900 publications, including 200 reviews covering more than 3,000 studies, and found that arts such as singing benefit health across the lifespan.World Health Organization / Fancourt & Finn, 2019
  4. 87% of choral singers said they had benefited socially and 75% emotionally from singing, in a cross-national survey of 1,124 singers.Clift & Hancox et al., Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 2010
  5. Mothers with moderate-to-severe postnatal depression recovered faster after 10 weeks of group singing than those receiving usual care or play workshops.Fancourt et al., British Journal of Psychiatry, 2018
  6. Choir singing synchronizes singers' heart rates, so they speed up and slow down together as the group breathes in time.Vickhoff et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2013
  7. 45% of "Singing for Lung Health" participants reported fewer GP visits and 18% reported fewer hospital admissions.British Lung Foundation service evaluation, 2018
  8. Singing bonds strangers faster than other group activities, an effect the researchers called the "ice-breaker effect."Pearce, Launay & Dunbar, University of Oxford, Royal Society Open Science, 2015

How many people sing

Choir numbers have gone up in both the US and the UK since the mid-2000s, though the two countries count differently: Chorus America surveys households, while the UK census counted the choirs themselves.

Choral singing is the most popular form of public participation in the performing arts in the United States, with an estimated 54 million Americans singing in choruses.

Chorus America, Chorus Impact Study, 2019
  1. 17% of US households include someone who sings in a chorus, up from 14% in 2008.Chorus America, 2019
  2. An estimated 42.6 million Americans sang in choruses in 2009, a figure that grew to 54 million by 2019.Chorus America, 2009 & 2019
  3. 10.4% of US adults reported performing publicly in a chorus within the past year, more than for any other public arts activity.National Endowment for the Arts, SPPA
  4. 7% of US adults reported singing publicly in 2022.National Endowment for the Arts, SPPA, 2022
  5. Around 2.14 million people sing regularly in choirs across the UK, in roughly 40,000 groups.Voices Now, Big Choral Census, 2017
  6. UK choir membership more than quadrupled in just over a decade, from about 0.5 million singers in 2006 to 2.14 million in 2017.Voices Now, Big Choral Census, 2017
  7. 62% of UK choirs sing contemporary songs and 60% sing classical repertoire.Voices Now, Big Choral Census, 2017
MeasureFigureSource (year)
Americans who sing in choruses54 millionChorus America (2019)
US households with a chorus singer17%Chorus America (2019)
US adults who performed in a chorus (past year)10.4%NEA (SPPA)
UK people singing regularly in choirs2.14 millionVoices Now (2017)
UK choirs / singing groups~40,000Voices Now (2017)

Singing, mental health and mood

Most of the mental-health evidence is self-reported, which is worth keeping in mind. The postnatal depression trial below is the exception: it is randomized and controlled.

In a cross-national survey of 1,124 choral singers, large majorities reported wellbeing benefits, and women endorsed those benefits more strongly than men.

Clift & Hancox et al., Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 2010
  1. 87% of choral singers reported benefiting socially from singing.Clift & Hancox et al., 2010
  2. 75% reported benefiting emotionally, 58% physically and 49% spiritually.Clift & Hancox et al., 2010
  3. Women endorsed the wellbeing effects of singing more strongly than men.Clift & Hancox et al., 2010
  4. Mothers with moderate-to-severe postnatal depression who did 10 weeks of group singing improved faster (p = .033) than those in usual care or play workshops, in a randomized trial of 134 mothers.Fancourt et al., British Journal of Psychiatry, 2018
  5. The Alzheimer's Society's "Singing for the Brain" program reduces anxiety and increases relaxation, happiness and sense of identity for people living with dementia.Alzheimer's Society / Osman et al., Dementia, 2016
  6. Old songs can trigger a spontaneous return of autobiographical memories in people with dementia, because the brain regions that store musical memory hold up relatively well against Alzheimer's damage.University of Helsinki research, via The Conversation, 2016

Self-reported benefits of choral singing

Share of 1,124 choral singers agreeing they benefited in each domain. Clift & Hancox et al., 2010

Social87%
Emotional75%
Physical58%
Spiritual49%

Singing, stress and the immune system

This is the research that measures what actually changes in the body, in saliva, after a single rehearsal.

Singing for just one hour was associated with reductions in cortisol and increases in cytokines, immune proteins that help the body fight illness, across 193 members of five choirs.

Tenovus Cancer Care & Royal College of Music, ecancermedicalscience, 2016
  1. Saliva tests on 193 choir members showed lower stress hormones and higher immune activity after one hour of singing.Tenovus Cancer Care & Royal College of Music, 2016
  2. Group singing synchronizes singers' heart rate variability, so their pulses rise and fall together with the structure of the music.Vickhoff et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2013
  3. The long, controlled exhalations of singing activate the vagus nerve, which slows the heart rate and is linked to relaxation.Vickhoff et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2013

Singing for physical and vocal health

Singing is a breathing exercise you happen to enjoy. That is the usual explanation for why it turns up in research on lung conditions and snoring.

  1. 45% of "Singing for Lung Health" participants reported fewer GP visits after taking part.British Lung Foundation service evaluation, 2018
  2. 18% reported fewer hospital admissions, alongside improved COPD Assessment Test scores.British Lung Foundation service evaluation, 2018
  3. Singing long phrases lengthens the out-breath and strengthens the muscles used in breathing, which helps people with lung conditions manage breathlessness.Asthma + Lung UK / British Lung Foundation
  4. Chronic snorers who practiced singing exercises for 20 minutes a day over three months reduced their snoring.Ojay & Ernst pilot study, 2000
  5. A randomized controlled trial found three months of daily singing exercises reduced daytime sleepiness and how often people snored.Hilton et al., University of Exeter "Singing for Snorers" RCT

Singing for Lung Health: participant-reported reductions

Share of participants reporting reduced healthcare use. British Lung Foundation evaluation, 2018

Fewer GP visits45%
Fewer admissions18%

Singing and social connection

The Oxford study is the interesting one here, because it compared singing classes against other classes rather than against nothing.

Singing classes bonded faster than craft or creative-writing classes over seven months, the first evidence of an "ice-breaker effect" of singing in bringing strangers together.

Pearce, Launay & Dunbar, University of Oxford, Royal Society Open Science, 2015
  1. New singing groups showed greater early increases in group closeness than craft or creative-writing groups, skipping the slow build-up the other activities needed.Pearce, Launay & Dunbar, Royal Society Open Science, 2015
  2. Taking part in an all-female community choir increased women's perceived overall health and emotional and social wellbeing, and helped build resilience in a disadvantaged community.Health Promotion International, Oxford Academic, 2022

The singing and music-learning market

These are commercial forecasts rather than peer-reviewed research, so treat them as estimates.

  1. The global online music education market was valued at about $2.18 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $4.9 billion by 2030, a 17.5% compound annual growth rate.Mordor Intelligence, 2025
  2. The global karaoke app market was estimated at roughly $7.51 billion in 2025.Global Growth Insights, 2025
  3. The karaoke app market is projected to reach about $19.82 billion by 2035, growing at around 10% per year.Global Growth Insights, 2025

Frequently asked questions

Is singing good for your health?

Yes. The World Health Organization's 2019 evidence review mapped more than 900 publications and found that arts activities including singing support health across the lifespan. Controlled studies have linked group singing to lower cortisol, increased immune proteins, better mood and faster recovery from postnatal depression symptoms.

Does singing reduce stress?

A study of 193 choir members by Tenovus Cancer Care and the Royal College of Music found that one hour of singing was associated with lower cortisol and higher levels of cytokines, the proteins the immune system uses to fight illness.

How many people sing in choirs?

More than 54 million Americans sing in choruses, according to Chorus America (2019). Around 2.14 million people sing regularly in roughly 40,000 choirs across the UK, according to the Voices Now Big Choral Census (2017).

Can singing help with breathing or lung conditions?

In the British Lung Foundation's Singing for Lung Health evaluation, 45% of participants reported fewer GP visits and 18% reported fewer hospital admissions, alongside improved COPD Assessment Test scores. Singing exercises have also been shown to reduce snoring and daytime sleepiness.

Is singing especially beneficial for women?

Women report wellbeing benefits from singing more strongly than men (Clift & Hancox, 2010). Studies of all-female choirs and of mothers with postnatal depression have documented gains in mood, identity and social connection.

Sources

Every statistic above comes from one of the following organizations or publications:

Ingrid Moss

Founder, Vocal Refresh

Ingrid Moss is the founder of Vocal Refresh, where she helps women strengthen and improve their singing voices. She coaches singers of all levels on vocal technique, vocal health and performance confidence, and can speak to building confidence through singing, overcoming vocal limitations, and music as a tool for personal growth.

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