Across The Border | China’s online education market to grow 20pc annually, bolstered by new technologies
Analysts believe the best is yet to come for the US$24 billion market, with innovations such as live-streamed lessons enabling teachers to reach out to students in remote areas and smaller cities
China’s online education industry has grown rapidly in the past few years, but analysts believe more business opportunities will surface as technology advances and capital pours in.
The country could become one of the world’s most vibrant online education markets in the future thanks to growing household spending power, an undersupply of education resources, and the introduction of the two-child policy, analysts said.
The market is likely to grow 20 per cent annually, reaching 270 billion yuan (US$41 billion) in 2019, up from 156 billion yuan in 2016. Globally the online education market will rise to US$190 billion by 2019, statistics from iResearch and Decebo showed.
This means big opportunities for online education companies in China, which had attracted 144 million users by June this year, according to data from China Internet Network Information Centre.
“The advancement of technology is the foundation of the growing online education industry,” said Du Miaomiao, an analyst at iResearch.
Differing from traditional teaching, new technology allows companies to broaden the student base, save on classrooms, and even provide smarter services.
