Hair transplantation in numbers: global statistics
Every figure on this page comes from the ISHRS Practice Census, the annual survey of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, and each is dated to the year it describes. Where a number is commonly quoted in this industry but has no verifiable source behind it, it is not here. That includes worldwide procedure totals, per-country volumes and satisfaction rates: the census surveys its own members rather than counting the world, and it does not measure satisfaction at all.
Harvesting method, 2024
Women are operated differently: 68.2% FUE, 30.0% strip or linear, 1.9% combination.
Robotic assistance remains marginal at 1.3% of FUE technique, not the fast-growing share it is often presented as.
Average grafts per case: 2,262 for FUE, 2,100 for FUT.
Source: ISHRS 2025 Practice Census (reporting 2024 activity), n=194 responding members.
Who the patients are, 2024
95% of first-time patients have surgery between the ages of 20 and 35.
Female surgical patients rose 16.5% between 2021 and 2024.
Facial hair accounted for 5% of male procedures; eyebrows 12.2% of female non-scalp procedures.
Source: ISHRS 2025 Practice Census (reporting 2024 activity), n=194 responding members.
Procedure profile, 2024
Graft survival percentages are deliberately absent. The figures quoted in marketing come from small studies with follow-up of twelve months or less, measured in inconsistent ways; our review of what those numbers actually mean sets out why they are not comparable.
The census does not measure patient satisfaction, so no satisfaction rate is quoted here.
Source: ISHRS 2025 Practice Census (reporting 2024 activity), n=194 responding members.
What patients say, 2024
Members were asked what motivated the patients they treated; these are their reported answers, not a patient survey.
Source: ISHRS 2025 Practice Census (reporting 2024 activity), n=194 responding members.
What changed since 2021
The black-market figures are the census's own term for unlicensed operators, and are among the few trend lines in this field measured consistently year on year.
Source: ISHRS 2025 Practice Census (reporting 2024 activity), n=194 responding members.
All figures: International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, 2025 Practice Census, reporting 2024 activity from 194 responding members across 80 countries. Published at ishrs.org. The census reports what its members do; it is not a count of every procedure performed worldwide, and no such count exists from a verifiable source.
How common hair loss actually is
Prevalence figures differ between studies because populations, age bands and the threshold for counting someone as affected all differ. The range is shown rather than a single number.
Sources 2, 3 and 4 below.
The measured psychological impact
DLQI is the Dermatology Life Quality Index, a validated 0-30 questionnaire; a pooled score of 8.16 falls in the moderate-effect range.
The same meta-analysis found impairment of quality of life and emotional wellbeing but did not find an association with depression. That distinction is reported here because it is what the evidence shows, not because it is the more comfortable finding.
Separate reviews report lower self-esteem and higher social anxiety, with women reporting these more strongly than men.
Sources 5 and 6 below.
What the medical treatments achieve
The two headline figures point in opposite directions because they are measured at different times: minoxidil leads at 24 weeks, finasteride at 48. Trials shorter than a year cannot settle which works better.
Combination topical minoxidil and finasteride outperformed either alone on hair density, hair diameter and global photographic assessment.
These are mean differences from pooled trial data, not outcomes any individual should expect.
Sources 7 and 8 below.
Sources
- 1. International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. 2025 Practice Census, reporting 2024 activity; 194 responding members across 80 countries. ishrs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/report-2025-ishrs-practice-census_05-12-25-final.pdf
- 2. Epidemiological landscape of androgenetic alopecia in the US: an All of Us cross-sectional study. PubMed Central. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11867384
- 3. Male androgenetic alopecia: population-based study in 1,005 subjects. PubMed Central. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938575
- 4. Frequency, severity and related factors of androgenetic alopecia: hospital-based cross-sectional study. PubMed Central. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5312176
- 5. Health-Related Quality of Life, Depression, and Self-esteem in Patients With Androgenetic Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatology. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34232264
- 6. Association between androgenetic alopecia and psychological well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed Central. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12690262
- 7. Relative efficacy of minoxidil and the 5-alpha reductase inhibitors in androgenetic alopecia treatment of male patients: a network meta-analysis. PubMed. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35107565
- 8. Comparing minoxidil-finasteride mixed solution with minoxidil solution alone for male androgenetic alopecia: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PubMed Central. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12537375
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Where a commonly quoted number has no verifiable source behind it — worldwide procedure totals, per-country volumes, satisfaction rates, graft survival percentages — it is not published here, and the reason is given in the section it would have appeared in.
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