The State of the World's Dive Sites 2026

1. The dive capitals are neck and neck

No single country dominates world diving. Six are locked in a near tie at the top.

Indonesia leads the catalog with 591 sites, but the United States sits just nine sites behind, and the entire top six spans a range of only 156 sites. Honduras and the tiny Cayman Islands outrank Australia and Mexico, and two nearly landlocked European countries, Germany and Switzerland, crack the top nine.

Indonesia:

591 sites

United States:

582 sites

Spain:

522 sites

Honduras:

448 sites

Egypt:

445 sites

Philippines:

435 sites

Germany:

397 sites

Cayman Islands:

379 sites

Switzerland:

368 sites

Canada:

332 sites

Italy:

279 sites

Maldives:

231 sites

Australia:

227 sites

Mexico:

211 sites

Greece:

203 sites

2. America runs the dive shops, and Japan is the hidden giant

The United States has 1,876 dive shops, nearly three times more than any country except Japan.

The US is the world's dive retail superpower with 1,876 catalogued shops, and Japan is the sleeper at 1,190 shops against only 76 catalogued sites. Italy is the density champion: 801 shops serving 279 sites. Honduras (448 sites, 68 shops) and the Cayman Islands (379 sites, 39 shops) are site rich and shop sparse.

United States:

1,876 shops (582 sites)

Japan:

1,190 shops (76 sites)

Italy:

801 shops (279 sites)

Germany:

758 shops (397 sites)

Spain:

732 shops (522 sites)

Indonesia:

664 shops (591 sites)

Philippines:

648 shops (435 sites)

Mexico:

632 shops (211 sites)

France:

629 shops

Thailand:

551 shops

United Kingdom:

505 shops

Egypt:

406 shops (445 sites)

3. The freshwater surprise: lakes are the world's #2 dive destination

Freshwater (lakes and quarries) is the second largest water body in the catalog, ahead of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Of the 9,602 sites with a recorded water body (96% of the catalog), the Caribbean Sea leads with 1,714 sites. Second place goes to freshwater: 981 lake and quarry sites, more than the Mediterranean (649) and the Red Sea (543). Switzerland alone accounts for 345 freshwater sites and Germany for another 283.

Caribbean Sea:

1,714 sites

Freshwater (lakes and quarries):

981 sites

Mediterranean Sea:

649 sites

North Atlantic Ocean:

640 sites

Red Sea:

543 sites

North Pacific Ocean:

431 sites

Philippine Sea:

274 sites

Laccadive Sea:

253 sites

South Pacific Ocean:

245 sites

Indian Ocean:

232 sites

4. Reefs rule, but nearly 1 in 5 typed sites is a wreck

Half of all classified dive sites are reefs. Wrecks are a strong second at 18%.

Of the 7,265 sites with a classified type (73% of all sites), reefs make up 51% (3,718 sites). The wreck fleet is 1,299 sites, 18% of typed sites, nearly one in five. Walls follow at 13% (932), caves at 6% (464) and pinnacles at 5% (399).

Reef:

3,718 sites (51%)

Wreck:

1,299 sites (18%)

Wall:

932 sites (13%)

Cave:

464 sites (6%)

Pinnacle:

399 sites (5%)

Lake or quarry bottom:

305 sites (4%)

Muck:

97 sites (1%)

5. The deep end: most of the world's diving is shallow

Half of all sites with a recorded depth bottom out at 20 meters or less. Only 4.6% go past 40 meters.

Across the 6,228 sites with a recorded maximum depth (63% of the catalog), the median maximum depth is just 20 meters, and the average is 23.7 meters. 84% top out at 30 meters or less, and 95% stay within the 40 meter recreational limit. The deepest site is Hranická Propast in the Czech Republic, recorded at 450 meters.

Median maximum depth:

20 m

Average maximum depth:

23.7 m

Within 18 m (entry level limit):

2,442 sites (39%)

Within 30 m:

5,203 sites (84%)

Within 40 m (recreational limit):

5,940 sites (95%)

Beyond 40 m (technical territory):

288 sites (4.6%)

Beyond 100 m:

24 sites

Deepest recorded site:

Hranická Propast, Czech Republic (450 m)

6. The life list: 11,895 species divers can actually meet

The Divemates marine life library features 11,895 diver relevant species, curated from a scientific backbone of 70,509 records, including 234 sharks, 322 rays, and 227 seahorses.

From a WoRMS aligned backbone of 70,509 marine species records, Divemates curates a featured library of 11,895 species divers are likely to encounter. Fish dominate (7,560), followed by molluscs (1,669), crustaceans (1,018), and corals (420). Of the 7,364 featured species with a recorded IUCN status, 734 (about 1 in 10) are threatened.

Fish:

7,560 species

Molluscs (octopus, squid, nudibranchs, shells):

1,669 species

Crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, lobsters):

1,018 species

Corals:

420 species

Marine mammals:

110 species

Rays:

322 species

Sharks:

234 species

Seahorses and relatives:

227 species

Threatened (IUCN CR, EN, or VU, of 7,364 with a status):

734 species

7. Boat or shore, easy or hard: how the world enters the water

Where access is recorded, 77% of sites are boat dives. Where difficulty is recorded, only 21% of sites are rated advanced.

Of the 4,446 sites with recorded access (45% of the catalog), 3,408 (77%) are boat dives and 1,036 (23%) are reachable from shore. Of the 3,557 sites with a recorded difficulty (36%), intermediate dominates at 52% (1,864), beginner friendly sites make up 27% (950), and only 21% (742) are rated advanced.

Boat access:

3,408 of 4,446 sites (77%)

Shore access:

1,036 of 4,446 sites (23%)

Intermediate difficulty:

1,864 of 3,557 sites (52%)

Beginner difficulty:

950 of 3,557 sites (27%)

Advanced difficulty:

742 of 3,557 sites (21%)

Methodology

All figures come from the Divemates catalog: 9,952 dive sites, 16,410 dive shops, and a marine species library built on a WoRMS aligned backbone of 70,509 species records, with conservation status from the IUCN Red List. Data as of July 11, 2026. These are counts of catalogued entities, compiled and deduplicated from multiple open and licensed sources, then curated by Divemates. They are not a claim to be the count of every dive site, shop, or species on Earth.

Feel free to quote any figure with attribution to "Divemates, The State of the World's Dive Sites 2026" and a link to this page. For a custom cut of the data, contact press@divemates.app.