Global Standard LMS “Moodle” Surpasses 500 Million Users on Registered Sites — The open-source movement for learning now reaches a scale equivalent to about 6% of the world’s population

Moodle HQ has announced that the number of users on registered Moodle sites has surpassed 500 million worldwide.[1]

The official announcement (Japanese translation) is available here.

“500 million” is not only a major milestone for a learning platform, but also proof that open-source software (OSS) for learning has continued to be chosen by real-world education and training environments around the world.

Note: This figure represents the total number of user accounts (cumulative) on registered Moodle sites, and may not match the number of unique individuals. In addition, unregistered sites are not included in these statistics.[2]

The impact of “500 million”: putting the number into perspective

If we assume the world population is approximately 8.26 billion, 500 million corresponds to about 6% of the global population.[1][2][5]

Based on the cumulative count of user accounts that can be confirmed via registered sites, this is equivalent to roughly one in every 16–17 people on Earth.[1][2]

In terms of population scale, 500 million is about four times Japan’s population (approx. 124 million) and also exceeds the population of the European Union (approx. 450 million).[3][4]

The fact that so many learners, course participants, and education stakeholders access learning through Moodle highlights Moodle’s presence as a digital foundation for education and training.[1]

And this is “registered sites only”: the real scale may be even larger

This 500 million figure is based solely on statistics from registered sites.[2]

Moodle also notes that many sites are not registered, which means the actual number of Moodle users could be higher than what can be officially counted.[1]

In other words, this announcement represents “500 million within the observable range.” That “unseen remainder” suggests Moodle’s adoption is not a temporary trend, but a platform that has become deeply rooted in learning environments worldwide.

Why it has grown this far: 23 years of history and the value of open source

Moodle is a platform that has evolved over 23 years by continuously addressing real challenges in learning environments.[1]

A key driver behind its growth has been the choice of open source.

The strength of being able to adapt to each context

Learning needs differ dramatically across schools, universities, corporate training, certification programs, and local governments. As an open-source solution, Moodle can be extended to match an organization’s operating policies, structure, and learning design—making it easier for improvements aligned with real requirements to accumulate over time.

The continuity required for long-term education and training

Education and training are not short sprints—they are long-distance journeys. OSS is also valued because long-term decisions and designs are less likely to be constrained by a single provider or a specific contract model.

A community that becomes a growth engine

Backed by a global community of users, developers, and partners, Moodle continues to accumulate plugins, know-how, and operational best practices. As a result, adoption has expanded while adapting to different countries, industries, and learning cultures.

As E-Learning Co., Ltd.: turning Moodle’s value into sustainable success

At E-Learning Co., Ltd., we will continue to maximize the value of Moodle’s flexibility and the OSS community together with our customers through implementation and operational support.

“500 million” is not the goal—it is a milestone on the path toward making learning more open and accessible to an even greater diversity of people.

Across a wide range of contexts—educational institutions, corporate training, multi-site organizations, and course providers—we will help build learning foundations that can be sustained over time and support effective use that leads to measurable learning outcomes, while promoting EduDX (the digital transformation of education).

Sources

[1] Moodle News: “We’re celebrating 500 million users on registered Moodle sites!”
https://moodle.com/news/500-million-users-on-registered-moodle-sites/

[2] stats.moodle.org (registered site statistics: Users, etc.)
https://stats.moodle.org/

[3] Statistics Bureau of Japan: “Population Estimates”
https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/

[4] Eurostat (EU population scale and trends)
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/

[5] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Population Division: World Population Prospects (WPP)
https://population.un.org/wpp/