(From PRNewswire) -- In honor of International Coaching Week, the International Coach Federation (ICF) is sharing findings from its latest research study which benchmarks global awareness of professional coaching for the first time.

"Continuing its role to provide the coaching profession and public with reliable industry research, the ICF is happy to share findings of our latest study during this annual coaching awareness week," said ICF President and Professional Certified Coach Ed Modell. "The results are significant because they give us the first look at how widespread coaching has become in the last two decades on a global scale. Knowing more about the public's knowledge of and experience with professional coaching now will help us sustain and build our industry's future."

ICF commissioned PwC's International Survey Unit (ISU) in 2010 to conduct the Global Consumer Awareness Study which surveyed 15,000 individuals, ages 25 and up, from 20 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Here are top findings from the Global Consumer Awareness Study:

How aware are people of professional coaching?

• More than half of all respondents (51 percent) were generally aware of coaching. This includes those who indicated they were either "very aware" (12 percent) or "somewhat aware" (39 percent). General awareness varied by country from a high of 92 percent in South Africa to a low of 20 percent in Germany.

• When probed, nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents who indicated they were unaware of coaching, did in fact have an understanding of professional coaching.