Diving Today

Today, an estimated 500,000 new scuba divers are certified yearly in the US, new scuba magazines emerge, dive computers proliferate, new liveaboards ply the waters and scuba travel is transformed into a big business. In North America alone recreational diving is becoming a multi-billion dollar industry.

PADI is the world's largest recreational diving membership organization followed by NAUI and BSAC in the United Kingdom. A membership with PADI includes dive businesses, resort facilities, academic institutions, instructor trainers, dive educators, divers, snorkelers and other watersports enthusiasts. Professional PADI Members (dive centers, resorts, educational facilities, instructors, assistant instructors and divemasters) teach the vast majority of the world's recreational divers, issuing nearly 946,000 certifications each year. PADI Professionals make underwater exploration and adventure accessible to the public while maintaining the highest industry standards for dive training, safety and customer service.

The Netherlands currently has the highest concentration of divers: one in every 7 Dutch men or women is a certified scuba diver. Recreational diving is tightly connected to exotic travel and both are experiencing an increasing popularity. At the same time there is expansion of "technical diving", a diving by non-professionals who use advanced technology, including mixed gases, full face masks, underwater voice communication, propulsion systems, and new methods of penetrating the depths of our planet more efficiently.

-From marinebio.org