[2024 New Report] Comprehensive Porn Statistics and the Future of VR Porn

This is the most comprehensive meta-study on porn statistics and the future of VR porn ever conducted. It provides a detailed mapping of objective and fact-based data on the growth of the pornographic market, regional and demographic insights, representative country and platform statistics, and more.

The dataset, aggregated from years of research, includes survey data, case studies, mappings of porn prevalence, website statistics, and porn addiction data. All this information is freely available, offering a complete view of the industry's landscape.

The Business of Pornography: Market Overview and Key Statistics

1Global Pornography Revenues and Growth Forecast

The adult entertainment industry, encompassing pornography, adult films, periodicals, and websites, is a multi-billion-dollar global market.

Despite its significant economic footprint, obtaining accurate data is challenging due to the prevalence of pirated content and the industry's inherent secrecy. However, reliable estimates provide a clearer picture of its vast scale and growth trajectory.

The global adult entertainment market was valued at $60.62 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $65.95 billion in 2024.

By 2028, the market is expected to reach $93.23 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%.

Year-over-year growth from 2023 to 2024 adds approximately $5.33 billion in revenue.

Source: The Business Research Company

2What Percentage of the Internet is Porn?

The question of how much of the internet consists of porn has long been debated, with numbers ranging from 37% to 80% in older sources. However, such claims often stem from anecdotal data, incomplete studies, or misinterpretations of internet use trends. Rigorous, up-to-date studies on this topic remain limited due to the dynamic nature of the internet and the difficulty in categorizing content.

One notable effort comes from Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, neuroscientists and authors of A Billion Wicked Thoughts. Their research represents one of the most comprehensive collections of porn-related data available online, though even they acknowledge the limitations and rapid evolution of digital behavior.

Websites: Pornographic content accounts for approximately 4% of all websites, leaving 96% to other categories

Web Searches: 13% of all web searches were related to adult content.

Mobile Searches: During the same period, mobile platforms demonstrated an even greater interest in adult content, with 20% of all mobile searches being attributed to pornography-related queries.

Source: The Business Research Company

Pornography's significant share of online videos and data flows underscores its popularity and impact on bandwidth use, particularly as streaming platforms continue to grow.

Pornographic videos account for 27% of all online video consumption and approximately 16% of total global internet data flows.

Source: The Shift Project

Regional and Demographic Insights on the Adult Entertainment Market

1Geographic Distribution of Adult Entertainment Traffic

Understanding the global distribution and demographic trends of the adult content market offers crucial insights into its ever-evolving dynamics.

In 2024, the top 19 countries accounted for 70% of the global traffic volume, up from 68.65% in 2023. The market has increased 1.35%.

Global Adult Visit Traffic by Country (2023 vs 2024)

Source: Semrush

The U.S. retained its position as the top source of traffic in 2023 and 2024, generating 18.41% of total traffic in 2024. However, its market share declined slightly from 19.65% in 2023.

Japan and India secured the second and third positions, respectively. Japan’s market share grew significantly from 8.12% in 2023 to 9.61% in 2024, overtaking India, whose share fell from 7.53% to 6.41%.

Source: Semrush

2Household Incone/Size Distribution of Adult Entertainment Viewers

Income Distribution: In both 2023 and 2024, the majority of market participants identified as low-income households. In 2024, 66.45% of traffic came from this segment, with medium-income users contributing 24.10%. High-income participation grew slightly from 9.26% in 2023 to 9.44% in 2024.

2024 vs 2023 Global Porn Viewers' Household Income Distribution

*Income level data is based on social demographics studies conducted by third-party partners. Study participants self-identify as low, medium, or high income. The exact values of high, medium, and low incomes vary by location.

Source: Semrush

Household Size: Households with 3–4 members represented the largest share of traffic in both years, accounting for 40.90% in 2024, followed by 5+ member households (23.66%). Single-person households contributed the least traffic, maintaining a consistent share of around 15.25%.

2024 vs 2023 Global Porn Viewers' Household Size Distribution

Source: Semrush

3Gender and Age Demographics of Porn Viewers

The notable increase in female viewership, from 29.92% in 2023 to 35.94% in 2024.

2024 vs 2023 Global Porn Viewers' Gender Distribution

Source: Semrush

Shift Towards Female Viewership: This trend is observed across major markets, including the United States, Japan, and India, suggesting broader acceptance and diversification of content to appeal to a wider audience.

Regional Variations in Gender Distribution: There are significant regional variations in gender distribution among the top 19 adult traffic volume countries. For example, South Korea and Thailand exhibit a higher proportion of male viewers, while countries like Egypt and Algeria show a predominance of female viewers. These variations highlight cultural and regional differences in attitudes towards adult content consumption.

2024 vs 2023 Men/Women Percentage of Porn Viewership in the Top 19 Adult Traffic Volume Countries

*These countries collectively represent 70% of the adult traffic volume in the market, making them significant indicators of global trends.

Source: Semrush

Shifting Age Demographics: The data indicates a clear trend towards younger age groups dominating the porn viewership landscape. The 25-34 age bracket still represents the largest segment, though its share has slightly decreased from 38.07% in 2023 to 23.85% in 2024. This shift may be influenced by changing content preferences, technological advancements, and accessibility of online adult content platforms which cater more effectively to younger users.

2024 vs 2023 Age Distribution of Porn Viewers

Source: Semrush

For all age groups, male viewership consistently outnumbers female viewership. However, there are notable differences in how each gender engages with content across different age ranges.

18-24 years: Female viewership remains slightly more balanced but still leans towards male dominance.

25-34 years: A noticeable gap emerges with male viewership significantly outweighing female.

35-44 years and older: The gender gap widens further, particularly among older demographics where female viewership becomes more pronounced.

2024 vs 2023 Men/Women Watch Porn in Different Age Distributions

Source: Semrush

4American Porn Statistics: A Closer Look

Due to the extensive reach of global adult content and the United States ranking as the leading market in adult traffic, we will use the U.S. as a representative example for detailed analysis in the following sections.

In 2024, male viewers dropped from 68.97% to 64.17%, while female viewers increased from 31.03% to 35.83%. This shift reflects a narrowing gender gap, indicating a growing engagement of female audiences with adult content.

Source: Semrush

Viewers aged 18-24 grew from 23.03% to 26.77%, while the 25-34 group dropped from 37.5% to 28.29%. Older age groups, particularly 55+, saw significant growth, nearly doubling their share.

2024 vs 2023 Age Distribution of United States Porn Viewers

Source: Semrush

Female viewership increased across all age groups, with notable gains in the 55-64 range (36.93% to 42.21%) and 65+ (39.84% to 46.33%). Male dominance slightly declined in each category.

2024 vs 2023 U.S. Men/Women Porn Viewership by Age Distribution

Source: Semrush

Low-income viewers remained the majority, increasing slightly from 66.29% to 66.65%. Medium-income participation saw a minor dip from 24.45% to 24.12%, while high-income viewers held steady at just over 9%.

2024 vs 2023 U.S. Porn Viewers' Household Income Distribution

Source: Semrush

Viewers with compulsory or high school education accounted for the largest share, rising marginally from 54.09% to 54.27%. University-educated and postgraduate segments showed little change, maintaining consistent proportions year-over-year.

2024 vs 2023 Global Porn Viewers' Education Level Distribution

Source: Semrush

Leading Companies and Sites in the Porn Industry (2024)

1[2024] Top Porn Companies

Source: Semrush

2[2024] Top Pornography Sites Traffic analysis

The top adult websites capture a significant share of the market's traffic. The top 20 sites collectively account for 48.27% of the total adult traffic volume.

Source: Semrush

Deep Dive on Pornhub: A Leading Adult Platform

1Newest Traffic Changes of Pornhub

According to data from Statistic by Laura Ceci, Pornhub experienced continuous growth in global traffic from April 2022 to January 2024.

Mobile Traffic Growth: The main source of visit growth came from mobile devices, which increased significantly from 6,535.28 million in January 2022 to 11,398.91 million in January 2024—a growth rate of 74.42%. In January 2024, over 11.4 billion visits came from mobile devices, making up 96.13% of the total traffic to Pornhub.

Desktop Traffic Growth: Visits from desktops also showed some growth, increasing from 366.26 million in January 2022 to 458.35 million in January 2024, with a growth rate of approximately 25.14%.

Traffic Distribution: In January 2024, 96.13% of the traffic to Pornhub.com originated from mobile devices, while only 3.87% came from desktop users.

Worldwide Visits to Pornhub From April 2022 to January 2024, by Device (in Millions)

Source: Semrush

2Global Traffic Distribution on Pornhub

Top 20 Countries: These nations account for 79.2% of all daily traffic on Pornhub.

United States: Continues to hold the top position, with the highest share of traffic.

France: Now ranks in second place, narrowly surpassing the Philippines which holds the third spot.

Year-over-Year Change: Last year, the Philippines was in second place, followed by France in third. The shift this year with France now in second place could be influenced by the influx of visitors and athletes due to the Olympics held in Paris. This event might have tipped the balance slightly in favor of France due to the increased international traffic

3Most Searched Content and Terms on Pornhub

Top Search Term: For the fourth consecutive year, "hentai" remains the most searched term globally on Pornhub in 2024. This content, which includes video game characters, anime-style characters, and 3D animation, has gained significant popularity worldwide.

Shift in USA: For the first time ever, "hentai" has overtaken "lesbian" as the most searched term in the United States. This change marks a shift in preferences, as "lesbian" held the top spot from 2017 to 2022.

4Average Time Spent per Visit on Pornhub

Country Breakdown: From the data analyzed, Mexico topped the list with the most time spent per visit to Pornhub, averaging 11 minutes and 1 second. The Netherlands followed closely with an average of 10 minutes and 51 seconds, while visitors in the United States were quicker, spending an average of 10 minutes and 37 seconds per visit.

Gender Differences: Female visitors spent about 17 seconds longer per visit compared to male visitors.

Age Group Differences: Visitors aged 45-64 spent significantly more time per visit than younger age groups. The 45-54 age group averaged 25 seconds longer than the overall average, and the 55-64 age group averaged 69 seconds longer.

5Most Popular Pornstars 2024

In 2024, the top 5 most searched pornstars were largely similar to the previous year. Angela White remained in the top spot, with Abella Danger in second place. Violet Myers moved up to third, Lana Rhoades stayed in fourth, and Eva Elfie rounded out the top five. Alex Adams made a significant jump, moving up seven spots to sixth place and holding the highest video views among them, with over 3.96 billion views.

Challenges in the Industry: Addiction and Ethical Concerns

1Definition/Symptoms of Porn Addiction

Porn addiction and sex addiction are not officially recognized as mental health disorders in the DSM-5 or by the American Psychiatric Association. The lack of formal criteria for diagnosis means there are no universally accepted guidelines for identifying porn addiction. The data will be compiled based on the following specified symptoms:

• Viewing porn in public or social situations where it can be seen or heard.
• Disrupting personal or professional life, such as staying up all night watching porn or neglecting responsibilities.
• Constant thoughts about watching porn, particularly at night.
• Repeated failed attempts to cut back on porn consumption.
• Financial strain due to excessive spending on porn-related content.

2Statistics on Porn Addiction

• Approximately 5 to 8% of the global population is affected by porn addiction.
• Addicted adults typically consume 11 to 12 hours of porn per week.
• 90% of children aged 8-16 have viewed porn at least once.
• Around 25% of search engine requests are for porn.

3Regional Focus: U.S. Users on Porn Addicted

• In 2023, approximately 42% of women and 80% of men reported watching pornography in FHEHealth.
• One in three Americans actively seeks out pornographic content.
• Roughly 11% of U.S. individuals watch porn daily.
• PornHub ranks as the fourth most-visited site among U.S. users, following Google, Facebook, and YouTube.

The Future of Pornography: VR Porn Market Growth

The major trend in the forecast period is the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology in the adult entertainment sector. A recent study by Grand View Research indicates that the global VR porn sextech market is set for significant expansion.

• Global VR porn sextech market statistics reveal a continuous growth trajectory, from $416.5 million USD in 2018 to $4,723.4 million USD by 2030.
• In 2024, the global VR porn market was valued at $1,818.1 million USD and is projected to grow at a 21% CAGR from 2025 to 2030, underscoring a robust demand for immersive VR experiences

Source: Grand View Research

VR porn is steadily increasing its share within the broader sextech market. From 2.78% in 2018 to an anticipated 4.38% by 2030, its growth trajectory reflects the technological pivot towards immersive experiences.

Source: Grand View Research

Conclusion

The porn industry in 2024 is undergoing a technological revolution with the growth of VR porn. Global revenues are growing alongside evolving demographic preferences, and leading platforms like Pornhub remain at the forefront. Challenges such as addiction and ethical concerns persist, but VR technology could offer new, responsible pathways forward. These trends will shape the future of the industry.