The average person walks about 4,961 steps a day. That figure comes from the largest study of its kind, which tracked 717,527 people across 111 countries using their smartphones (Althoff et al., published in Nature, data collected 2013-14). It is roughly half the 10,000-step target most people quote.
The real number moves a lot depending on who you measure. Age, sex, country, and the job someone works can swing a daily step count several times over. How you measure matters too: a phone counts fewer steps than a research-grade accelerometer worn all day, so device data and clinical data tell different stories.
This page pulls the credible step-count data into one place, broken out by every cut we could source, with the studies named so you can check them.
Citation Policy: These statistics are free to share and cite, including for commercial and editorial use. If a figure here helps your work, a link back to Fitness Avenue is all we ask in return.
Key Takeaways
- The global average is about 4,961 steps per day, measured across 717,527 people in 111 countries (Althoff et al., Nature, data 2013-14).
- Fewer than 5,000 steps a day counts as sedentary on the standard step-count index (Tudor-Locke and Bassett).
- Health benefits from walking plateau around 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day. The 10,000 target came from a 1965 Japanese pedometer brand name, not from research.
- Hong Kong topped the country ranking at 6,880 steps a day, while Indonesia was lowest of the ten measured at 3,513 (Althoff/Stanford smartphone data).
- Measured with research accelerometers, Canadian men averaged 9,500 steps and women 8,400 steps a day (Statistics Canada Health Measures Survey, 2007-09 data).
- Occupation drives the widest gap: office and secretarial workers averaged about 4,300 steps a day versus roughly 18,900 for mail carriers (American Council on Exercise pedometer study).
- The share of device users in the sedentary range jumped from 38% to 52% during 2020 and was still 51% in 2022 across 34 countries (Chevance et al., JMIR).
- As few as 2,337 steps a day was enough to start lowering the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (Banach et al. meta-analysis of 226,889 people).
The Global Average: About 5,000 Steps a Day
The global average person walks close to 5,000 steps a day, and American adults sit slightly below that. Estimates vary by source because they count steps in different ways, but they cluster in a narrow band.
| Population | Average daily steps | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global average | 4,961 | Althoff et al., Nature |
| United States | 4,774 | Althoff et al., Nature |
| United States | 3,000 to 4,000 | UT Southwestern Medical Center |
| Global average | About 5,000 | American Institute for Cancer Research |
Source: the 4,961 global and 4,774 US figures are from the Stanford smartphone study led by Tim Althoff, published in Nature; UT Southwestern and the American Institute for Cancer Research as noted per row.
The global average is 4,961 steps a day, roughly half the 10,000-step target. Source: Althoff et al., Nature.
One caveat runs through every figure here. Smartphone studies only count steps while the phone is carried, so they read low; research accelerometers worn all day capture more and read higher. Both are valid. Globally, about 31% of adults, roughly 1.8 billion people, do not get enough physical activity, according to the World Health Organization.
How Many Steps You Actually Need (and the Sedentary Threshold)
Health benefits rise fast from a low starting point and level off well before 10,000 steps. Walking fewer than 5,000 steps a day is classed as sedentary, and most of the gain comes from climbing out of that bottom band.
The step-count index from Tudor-Locke and David Bassett sorts adults into five levels:
| Daily steps | Activity level |
|---|---|
| Under 5,000 | Sedentary |
| 5,000 to 7,499 | Low active |
| 7,500 to 9,999 | Somewhat active |
| 10,000 to 12,499 | Active |
| 12,500 and above | Highly active |
Source: the five-tier step-count index, from Tudor-Locke et al.
The research on how many steps lower the risk of early death has converged on a range under 10,000:
| Finding | Population | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Risk starts dropping at 2,337 steps/day (cardiovascular), 3,867 (all causes) | 226,889 adults, 17 cohorts | Banach et al., Eur J Prev Cardiol |
| Each extra 1,000 steps/day linked to 15% lower all-cause mortality | 226,889 adults | Banach et al., Eur J Prev Cardiol |
| Risk levels off around 7,500 steps/day | US older women, mean age 72 | Lee et al., JAMA Internal Medicine |
| Plateau at 6,000 to 8,000 steps/day | Adults 60 and older | Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health |
| Plateau at 8,000 to 10,000 steps/day | Adults under 60 | Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health |
| About 7,000 steps/day delivers most of the longevity benefit | Adults, 2025 dose-response meta | Ding et al., Lancet Public Health |
Source: Banach et al., European Journal of Preventive Cardiology; Lee et al., JAMA Internal Medicine; Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health; Ding et al. 2025 dose-response review as reported by UT Southwestern.
Death risk starts to fall at 2,337 steps a day for cardiovascular disease and 3,867 for all causes, well under 10,000. Source: Banach et al., European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
For anyone who prefers minutes to steps, the US physical activity guideline of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week works out to roughly 2,000 to 5,000 added steps a day. For how little most Canadians move, see our sedentary lifestyle statistics for Canada.
Average Steps Per Day by Age
Step counts peak in childhood and fall steadily with age. Children and teenagers are the most active group by a wide margin, and the decline continues through adulthood into the senior years.
| Age group | Average daily steps | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children 6 to 17 | 11,290 to 12,512 | Colley et al. |
| Boys, school age | 12,000 to 16,000 | Healthline compilation |
| Girls, school age | 10,000 to 12,000 | Healthline compilation |
| Healthy older adults | 2,000 to 9,000 | Tudor-Locke et al. |
Source: children 6 to 17 from Colley et al., reported by Medical News Today; the school-age boys and girls figures are compiled by Healthline; the healthy-older-adult range is from Tudor-Locke et al.. The Colley figure is the step count equivalent to meeting the activity guideline for ages 6 to 17; the boys and girls rows are observed pedometer norms, which run higher.
For the Canadian breakdowns, see our youth fitness statistics for Canada and senior fitness statistics for Canada.
Average Steps Per Day by Sex
Men average modestly more steps than women in adulthood, but the gap is small and it disappears when the target is set. Medical News Today notes the recommended daily step target is the same for both sexes.
| Group | Average daily steps | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US men | 5,340 | Bassett, America On the Move |
| US women | 4,912 | Bassett, America On the Move |
| Difference | About 400 steps | Bassett, America On the Move |
Source: America On the Move data reported by Bassett. The same pattern appears in childhood, where boys log more steps than girls.
US men walk about 400 more steps a day than US women, a small gap. Source: Bassett, America On the Move.
Average Steps Per Day by Country
Daily step counts vary widely between countries. In the Stanford smartphone study, Hong Kong led and Indonesia was lowest of the ten shown, a gap of nearly two to one. These are smartphone-measured figures, so treat them as a ranking rather than a clinical count.
| Country | Average daily steps |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 6,880 |
| China | 6,189 |
| United Kingdom | 5,444 |
| Germany | 5,205 |
| France | 5,141 |
| Canada | 4,819 |
| United States | 4,774 |
| Australia | 4,491 |
| India | 4,297 |
| Indonesia | 3,513 |
Source: Althoff et al., Stanford/Nature smartphone data, collected 2013-14.
Hong Kong led the ten countries at 6,880 steps a day and Indonesia was lowest at 3,513, with Canada at 4,819. Smartphone data from Althoff et al., Stanford/Nature.
The study's authors linked these gaps to activity inequality: countries where steps are spread unevenly across the population tend to have higher obesity rates. National accelerometer surveys record higher totals than smartphone figures, which is why Canada's clinical average runs higher than its smartphone figure.
How Many Steps Canadians Take a Day
Canada sits mid-pack globally, and the exact figure depends on the measurement tool. Smartphone data put Canada at 4,819 steps a day. Research accelerometers tell a higher story, because a dedicated device worn all day captures far more than a phone carried some of the time.
| Group | Average daily steps | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (all, smartphone) | 4,819 | Smartphone, Althoff/Stanford |
| Adult men | 9,500 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
| Adult women | 8,400 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
| Men 60 to 79 | 7,900 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
| Women 60 to 79 | 7,000 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
| Boys 6 to 19 | 12,100 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
| Girls 6 to 19 | 10,300 | Accelerometer, StatCan |
Source: Statistics Canada Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2007-09 data.
On research accelerometers, Canadian boys 6 to 19 log the most steps and women 60 to 79 the fewest. Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2007-09 data.
Only about 35% of Canadian adults reached 10,000 steps a day in that survey. More recent Health Measures Survey data shows 46% of adults meeting the physical activity guideline in the 2022-24 cycle, alongside 9.3 hours a day of sedentary time.
For the full Canadian picture, including walking rates and trends, see our walking statistics for Canada.
Average Steps Per Day by Occupation
The job someone works is one of the biggest single drivers of their step count. Desk work and on-your-feet work can differ by more than fourfold. A pedometer study from the American Council on Exercise found the widest occupational gap in the data:
| Occupation | Average daily steps |
|---|---|
| Secretary / office worker | 4,327 |
| Mail carrier | 18,904 |
Source: American Council on Exercise pedometer study.
Mail carriers walk more than four times as many steps as office workers. Source: American Council on Exercise pedometer study.
A small Australian study of 10 workers, one per occupation, gives a rough sense of the spread across other jobs. With one person per role it is a snapshot, not a robust average:
| Occupation | Steps per day |
|---|---|
| Waiter or server | 22,778 |
| Nurse | 16,390 |
| Retail worker | 14,660 |
| Farmer | 14,037 |
| Stay-at-home parent | 13,813 |
| Teacher | 12,564 |
| Tradesperson | 11,585 |
| Hairdresser | 9,209 |
| Office worker | 7,570 |
| Call-centre associate | 6,618 |
Source: Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute study (n=10), reported by Healthline. Single worker per job; treat as illustrative.
Larger studies of single roles fill in the picture:
| Role | Steps measured |
|---|---|
| Hospital nurses, Korea (per 9.4-hour shift) | 9,360 |
| Office / work-from-home workers (self-reported) | 3,000 to 5,000 |
Source: nurse figure from a 2022 study of 117 hospital nurses (Human Resources for Health); desk-worker range from worker self-reports, so treat it as a rough floor. Many desk workers say hitting 10,000 takes deliberate effort, like lunch walks or a treadmill desk.
How Daily Step Counts Have Changed Over Time
Daily movement has been falling for decades, and it dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic without fully recovering. The long-run shift is structural: work has gotten less physical, cutting more than 100 calories a day from the average US worker's energy use.
| Era | US private-industry jobs requiring moderate activity |
|---|---|
| Early 1960s | About 50% |
| 2008 | Under 20% |
Source: Church et al., PLOS ONE.
Physically active jobs fell from about half of US private-industry jobs to under one in five. Source: Church et al., PLOS ONE.
The pandemic sped the decline. A JMIR study led by Guillaume Chevance tracked 208,818 device users across 34 countries:
| Year | Measure (device users, 34 countries) | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Share in sedentary range | 38% |
| 2020 | Share in sedentary range | 52% |
| 2022 | Share in sedentary range | 51% |
| 2019 (Q1) | Median daily steps | 5,802 |
| 2022 (Q1) | Median daily steps | 5,082 (down 12.3%) |
| 2019 to 2022 | Japan, median daily steps | 6,494 to 5,007 (down 22.9%) |
Source: Chevance et al., JMIR.
The share of device users in the sedentary range jumped during 2020 and had not recovered by 2022. Source: Chevance et al., JMIR, 208,818 users in 34 countries.
Steps recovered somewhat after lockdowns eased but stayed below their 2019 baseline through 2022.
Where the 10,000-Steps-a-Day Goal Came From
The 10,000-steps target is a marketing figure from 1965, not a medical guideline. It began with a Japanese pedometer, the Manpo-kei ("10,000-steps meter"), sold by the Yamasa company after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Harvard epidemiologist I-Min Lee, who studies step counts and mortality, put it plainly: "The number was made up as a marketing tool". She has also noted there were "no actual studies that had looked at 10,000 steps" when the figure took hold. The round number stuck because it was memorable, not because research pointed to it. Most of the health benefit is banked by around 7,000 steps a day.
How Many Steps a Day for Weight Loss
More steps are linked to more weight loss, with an effect showing from around 7,500 steps a day. Medical News Today, reviewing the research, reports that walking more than 7,500 steps a day is associated with greater weight loss than a near-sedentary baseline. Steps support weight management alongside diet, not on their own. For distance, 10,000 steps is roughly 5 miles (8 km) for most people.
Do Step Counts Change by Season?
People walk noticeably less in cold months, which matters in a country with Canadian winters. Seasonal studies consistently show a summer peak and a winter dip.
| Comparison | Steps per day | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK adults, summer vs winter | 10,417 vs 9,132 | Hamilton et al., Annals of Human Biology |
| Canadian cohort, spring/summer vs fall/winter | 5,659 vs 4,901 | Dasgupta et al., Cardiovascular Diabetology |
Source: Hamilton, Clemes and Griffiths, Annals of Human Biology; Dasgupta et al., Cardiovascular Diabetology, a Montreal type 2 diabetes cohort.
A Montreal cohort walked fewer steps in fall and winter than in spring and summer. Source: Dasgupta et al., Cardiovascular Diabetology.
The winter drop of over 1,000 steps a day in the UK study is the kind of gap that pushes many Canadians below the sedentary line for months at a time. The Montreal data shows the same fall-and-winter dip closer to home. Indoor movement is how you hold your count steady when it is dark and icy outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it realistic to get 10,000 steps a day?
It is achievable but most people fall short. Only about 35% of Canadian adults reached 10,000 steps a day in the Statistics Canada Health Measures Survey. Benefits largely level off around 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day, so falling short of 10,000 is not a failure.
How many steps a day is considered active?
On the Tudor-Locke and Bassett index, 7,500 to 9,999 steps a day is "somewhat active," 10,000 to 12,499 is "active," and 12,500 or more is "highly active." Under 5,000 a day is classed as sedentary.
Is walking 20,000 steps a day good?
It is safe for most healthy people, but the health benefits plateau well before then. The mortality research from Paluch and Ding shows the biggest gains are banked by 7,000 to 8,000 steps, with only small added benefit beyond about 10,000.
How many steps should I walk a day by age?
Children and teenagers log the most, often 10,000 to 16,000 steps a day. Adults under 60 see the most benefit around 8,000 to 10,000 steps, and adults over 60 around 6,000 to 8,000, per the Lancet Public Health analysis by Paluch and colleagues.
Is it better to walk faster or longer?
Total steps matter most, but intensity adds benefit. The JAMA study of older women by Lee tied step count strongly to lower mortality, and a faster cadence appears to help on top of the total. Walk more first; walking faster is a bonus.
The Bottom Line
The average person walks about 5,000 steps a day, less than most people assume and well short of the 10,000 target that came from a 1965 pedometer name rather than a lab. The number swings hard by age, sex, country, occupation, and season, but the health message is steady: most of the benefit arrives by 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day, and simply climbing out of the under-5,000 sedentary band does the heavy lifting.
At Fitness Avenue, we have helped Canadians build home gyms since 2007. When a desk job or a cold, dark month drives your step count down, moving indoors is how you stay off the sedentary line. Adding light resistance to your walking, like a weighted vest, makes the steps you do take count for more. See our guide to the best weighted vest for walking if you want to get more out of every step.
Sources
- Althoff et al., Nature: worldwide activity inequality
- Statistics Canada: physical activity of Canadian adults (Health Measures Survey)
- Statistics Canada: physical activity and sedentary behaviour
- Tudor-Locke et al.: how many steps a day are enough for adults
- Tudor-Locke et al.: how many steps a day are enough for older adults and special populations
- Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health: daily steps and all-cause mortality
- Lee et al., JAMA Internal Medicine: step volume and mortality in older women
- Banach et al., European Journal of Preventive Cardiology: steps and mortality
- Chevance et al., JMIR: global step trends
- Church et al., PLOS ONE: trends in occupation-related physical activity
- American Council on Exercise: steps by occupation
- Harvard Health: 10,000 steps a day, or fewer
- Popular Science: the 10,000-step myth
- World Health Organization: physical activity fact sheet
- Medical News Today: how many steps should people take per day
- UT Southwestern: focusing on 10,000 steps a day could be a misstep
- American Institute for Cancer Research: the average person walks about 5,000 steps per day
- Hamilton, Clemes and Griffiths, Annals of Human Biology: seasonal step counts
- Dasgupta et al., Cardiovascular Diabetology: daily steps in a diabetes cohort
- Healthline: average steps per day by age, gender, occupation and country
- Human Resources for Health: nurses' step counts per shift
