Gnome Stats: Global Rise in Gnome Popularity

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 Gnome appearances in media have grown by 25% between 2018 and 2022, according to IMDb.  Gnomes frequently appear in video games, movies such as  Amélie and Gnomeo and Juliet, and TV shows, with characters like "The Sims 4" featuring gnome festivals, and Gravity Falls using gnomes as comedic creatures. They feature in the iconic book Gnomes by Wil Huygen, and in the Harry Potter series, where gnomes inhabit the Weasley family’s garden. 

Google's Keyword Planning Tool reports 6 million annual searches for the keyword 'Garden Gnome' from 1 Oct 23 to 30 Sept 24, with a 900% year on year increase. These statistics cover the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Ireland and Australia. Additionally, there are 600,000 annual searches for 'Gnome Books' and 6,000 annual searches for 'Illustrated Gnome Book'.

   Globally, there are over 500 gnome enthusiast groups. These groups share photos, advice on gnome placement, and details of their collections. Gnome Lovers facebook group (NY, USA) has 248,000 members.  

In the Statista report,  Most popular garden trends in the United Kingdom (UK) as of January 2021, it's stated that 15% of all gardens in the UK have a garden gnome.

The Scarborough News (UK, 2022) published a study by Atlas Ceramics crowning garden gnomes as the biggest garden trend for 2022 with a reported 9 million gnome-related searches on TikTok.

Garden blog, Garden-ID.com, in an article titled, The Garden Gnomes are Back, quotes an estimated 25 million garden gnomes in German gardens.

In their 2014 regional election campaign, the Social Democratic Party of Austria used garden gnomes as a unique promotional tool. They placed 2,000 gnomes, called "Coolmen," along busy roads, each holding a small poster with a short slogan. After 400 of the gnomes went missing, the party filed a police report, which attracted international media attention.    

In 2018, Better Homes and Gardens Australia  aired a TV segment,  Jason's Gnome Garden, with a backyard makeover featuring a gnome garden.

According to Wikipedia, Wil Huygen's iconic book Gnomes sold nearly 1 million units in the first year of publication and as of 2019 had sold over 4 million copies. Amazon lists the most recent reprint being 2023.

 Gnomes are becoming a quirky tattoo trend, with tattoo studios reporting a 20% rise in requests for gnome tattoos in 2022, particularly among millennials and fantasy enthusiasts (Tattoo Industry Trends, 2022). 

 Christmas gnomes, also known as Scandinavian Nisse, are becoming a worldwide trend. Global sales of Christmas gnome decorations increased by 42% between 2019 and 2022, with strong demand in the U.S., Germany, and Australia (Christmas Retail Report, 2022). 

Gnomes are gaining popularity as Halloween decorations, with a 38% increase in sales of spooky gnomes reported by U.S. retailers in 2022, as per the National Retail Federation's Halloween Trends Report.    

Targetting the universal love of gnomes, Wikipedia has created Gnome Week designating June 21 as International Gnome Day. This is a creative program from Wikipedia, aimed at enroling volunteers in editing its 6 million plus articles. 

An eccentric group called the Garden Gnome Liberation Front (GGLF), which started in France in the 1990s, “free” gnomes from gardens and relocate them to forests or other “natural” environments, as a humorous form of protest against garden gnome captivity. Although humorous, this is of course illegal.  

   Gnomes are considered good luck charms in many cultures, especially when placed in the garden. It’s believed that they bring prosperity, protect plants, and ward off pests.   

  There’s a fun legend that garden gnomes come to life when no one is looking, particularly at night, to help tend the garden. This idea has added to the mystique of gnome folklore.   

  According to folklore, gnomes are incredibly long-lived. In some stories, gnomes can live for hundreds of years, with lifespans ranging from 300 to 500 years, making them wise and patient beings.   

   The iconic pointy hat worn by gnomes is thought to be a symbol of wisdom and magical power. The hat’s shape and size are also seen as a way to blend in with forest surroundings, helping gnomes remain unnoticed.   

Gnomes are believed to favour certain plants, particularly ferns, mushrooms, and ivy, which grow well in shady, gnome-like forest settings. Gnomes are often depicted with mushrooms. In folklore, mushrooms were thought to be magical and were sometimes referred to as “fairy rings,” where gnomes, fairies, and other mythical creatures gathered.  

 In mythology, gnomes were believed to have different roles, such as protectors of the forest, guardians of hidden treasures, or even miners. This is why some gnomes are depicted holding tools like shovels or lanterns.