India's Activity Economy: 26,000+ Academies Mapped
A free data study mapping 26,582 verified academies, gyms and activity centres across 9 Indian cities — category mix, city profiles and what 2.9M reviews reveal.
Published 2026-04-30 by LyfSkills Editorial.
- 26,582 verified academies
- 34 activity categories
- 9 cities covered
- 2.9M Google reviews analysed
What we studied
This report maps India’s offline activity economy — gyms and fitness centres, sports academies, performing-arts schools and creative learning centres — across the top metros and their satellite cities. It measures how many academies each city has and how densely they are distributed, what the category landscape looks like beyond gyms, how much of the sector is chains versus independent operators, and what 2.9 million Google reviews reveal about ratings you can actually trust.
What's inside the study
Which city has the most academies — and which is the most densely served?
Volume and density tell very different stories. The city with the highest count isn't the one with the most options per sq km.
What does the category landscape actually look like beyond gyms?
Which traditional activities dominate, which niche categories are emerging, and how the long tail shapes up.
Does every metro have the same activity mix — or do cities specialise?
Each city over-indexes in different categories, revealing cultural preferences and demographic profiles.
How much of the sector is chains vs. independent operators?
Consolidation is happening in some categories but not others — which are franchise-friendly, and which resist it.
Can you trust a 5-star rating when most academies have one?
The rating distribution is heavily compressed at the top. What that means for anyone trying to choose.
Is activity supply evenly spread — or clustered in a few neighbourhoods?
Some localities carry several times the city median, so where you live changes how many options you have.
Contents of the report
- Market sizing: academy counts and density across 9 cities
- Category landscape: 34 activities ranked by prevalence
- City profiles: activity mix and over-indexing patterns
- Brand vs. independent: consolidation trends by category
- Rating distribution: what 2.9M reviews reveal
- Review sentiment: what drives praise vs. complaints
- Locality standouts: where supply clusters within cities
- Methodology and data pipeline
How to get the study
The full report is free. Enter your details on this page, verify your phone with the one-time code, and the PDF download link appears immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is the LyfSkills activity economy data study?
It is a data-led report on India's offline activity sector — 26,582 verified academies, gyms, sports facilities and creative learning centres across 9 cities, analysed by category, city, locality, ownership and rating.
Where does the data come from?
The study aggregates anonymised, listing-level data from the LyfSkills Discover platform, combined with 2.9 million public Google reviews covering those academies.
Which cities and categories does the study cover?
Nine cities across India’s top metros and their satellite cities, spanning 34 activity categories — gyms and fitness, cricket, football, swimming, badminton, dance, music, martial arts, art and craft, coding and more.
Is the study free to download?
Yes. The full PDF is free — verify your phone number on this page with a one-time code and the download link appears immediately.
What is inside the report?
Market sizing and density by city, the 34-category landscape, per-city activity mix, chain versus independent split, the rating distribution behind 2.9M reviews, review sentiment, locality standouts and the full methodology.