BSAC Membership Information - Membership figures

Figures give membership at each year end. ‘Guesstimates‘ only are available until 1965, after which precise records were kept.

1953	Formed	1960	5,000	1965	6,813
1966	7,979	1967	8,350	1968	9,241
1969	11,299	1970	13,721	1971	14,898
1972	17,041	1973	19,332	1974	22,150
1975	23,204	1976	25,310	1977	25,342
1978	27,510	1979	30,579	1980	24,900
1981	27,834	1982	29,590	1983	32,177
1984	32,950	1985	34,861	1986	34,210
1987	34,500	1988	32,960	1989	34,422
1990	36,434	1991	43,475	1992	47,192
1993	50,356	1994	51,156	1995	52,247
1996	51,460	1997	51,112	1998	50,121
1999	44,501	2000	44,332	2001	43,276
2002	40,934	2003	39,505	2004	38,490

In the absence of any single authority able to provide accurate figures, BSAC estimates that the total ‘UK sports diving population‘ to be in the order of 200,000, many of whom are former BSAC members who now dive privately with friends and not as members of a club or association. Without doubt, BSAC is the largest representative diving club in UK.

Qualifications held by BSAC members
At the end of 2004, membership qualifications were (approximate figures):

Under Training	14,500	Snorkellers	1,500
Club/Ocean Diver	4000	Sports Diver	9000
Dive Leader	6500	Advanced Diver	7000

The following qualifications are also held by some of the above Dive Leaders and Advanced Divers (approximate figures):

First Class Diver	500	Club Instructor	2000
Open Water Instructor	2,000	Advanced Instructor	1500

World sports diving population
This is very difficult to predict. No single authority is publishing figures - even the World Underwater Federation does not know! The following are estimates of the number of active divers world-wide, based on the very limited amount of factual information available.

Great Britain	200,000	Europe	1,000,000
Middle East	100,000	Far East	1,500,000
Americas	2,500,000	African Continent	150,000
Australasia	600,000

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Page last modified: 2nd Nov 2006 - 10:03:58