Global Footwear Production Holds Steady at 24.6 Billion Pairs in 2025: APICCAPS

Global footwear production remained largely stable in 2025, rising by a marginal 0.1% to 24.6 billion pairs, according to the World Footwear Yearbook 2026 released by APICCAPS.

The report notes that revised figures for 2024 show global footwear production reached 24.5 billion pairs, reflecting nearly 10% year-on-year growth, higher than the previously estimated 6.9%. With the updated baseline, production in 2025 showed only a slight increase, indicating that the industry has entered a phase of stabilization after a strong recovery.

Asia Continues to Dominate Manufacturing

Asia retained its overwhelming dominance in global footwear manufacturing, accounting for 88.7% of total production in 2025. The regional distribution remained largely unchanged, although Europe and Africa recorded slight gains in market share, while South America experienced a marginal decline.

China Leads, India Strengthens Second Position

China remained the world's largest footwear producer, manufacturing 13.7 billion pairs, representing 55.6% of global output.

India further strengthened its position as the second-largest footwear producer, with 3 billion pairs, accounting for 12.2% of worldwide production.

Vietnam continued its upward trajectory, producing 1.7 billion pairs and capturing 6.7% of global output.

Outside Asia, Brazil (3.4%) and Mexico (0.9%) remained the only countries from other continents to feature among the world's top 10 footwear-producing nations.

The latest findings underline Asia's continued manufacturing leadership, with China, India, and Vietnam remaining the key drivers of global footwear production despite overall output remaining virtually unchanged in 2025.