The total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally is forecast to increase rapidly. While it was estimated at ***** zettabytes in 2025, the forecast for 2029 stands at ***** zettabytes. Thus, global data generation will triple between 2025 and 2029. Data creation has been expanding continuously over the past decade. In 2020, the growth was higher than previously expected, caused by the increased demand due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as more people worked and learned from home and used home entertainment options more often.

The global big data market is forecasted to grow to 103 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, more than double its expected market size in 2018. With a share of 45 percent, the software segment would become the large big data market segment by 2027. What is Big data? Big data is a term that refers to the kind of data sets that are too large or too complex for traditional data processing applications. It is defined as having one or some of the following characteristics: high volume, high velocity or high variety. Fast-growing mobile data traffic, cloud computing traffic, as well as the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) all contribute to the increasing volume and complexity of data sets. Big data analytics Advanced analytics tools, such as predictive analytics and data mining, help to extract value from the data and generate new business insights. The global big data and business analytics market was valued at 169 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and is expected to grow to 274 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. As of November 2018, 45 percent of professionals in the market research industry reportedly used big data analytics as a research method.

The total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally is forecast to increase rapidly, reaching 149 zettabytes in 2024. Over the next five years up to 2028, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 394 zettabytes. In 2020, the amount of data created and replicated reached a new high. The growth was higher than previously expected, caused by the increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people worked and learned from home and used home entertainment options more often. Storage capacity also growing Only a small percentage of this newly created data is kept though, as just 2 percent of the data produced and consumed in 2020 was saved and retained into 2021. In line with the strong growth of the data volume, the installed base of storage capacity is forecast to increase, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 19.2 percent over the forecast period from 2020 to 2025. In 2020, the installed base of storage capacity reached 6.7 zettabytes.

This statistic shows the growth rate of the global big data market from 2012 to 2027. The big data market is forecast to grow by 20 percent in 2018, reaching 42 billion U.S. dollars in size.

The revenue is forecast to experience significant growth in all regions in 2029. From the selected regions, the ranking by revenue in the data center market is forecast to be led by the United States with 212.06 billion U.S. dollars. In contrast, the ranking is trailed by the United Kingdom with 23.76 billion U.S. dollars, recording a difference of 188.3 billion U.S. dollars to the United States. Find further statistics on other topics such as a comparison of the revenue in the world and a comparison of the revenue in the United States.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2024, spending on digital transformation (DX) is projected to reach 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. By 2027, global digital transformation spending is forecast to reach 3.9 trillion U.S. dollars. What is digital transformation? Digital transformation refers to the adoption of digital technology to transform business processes and services from non-digital to digital. This encompasses, among others, moving data to the cloud, using technological devices and tools for communication and collaboration, as well as automating processes. What is driving digital transformation? Digital transformation growth is due to several contributing factors. Among these was COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the digital transformation tempo in organizations around the globe in 2020 considerably. Although the pandemic is over, working from home among organizations globally has not only remained, but also increased, increasing the drive for digital transformation. Other contributing causes include customer demand and the need to be on par with competitors. Overall, utilizing technologies for digital transformation render organizations more agile in responding to changing markets and enhance innovation, thereby making them more resilient.

IT spending worldwide is projected to reach over 5.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025, over a nine percent increase on 2024 spending. Smaller companies spending a greater share on hardware According to the results of a survey, hardware projects account for a fifth of IT budgets across North America and Europe. Larger companies tend to allocate a smaller share of their budget to hardware projects. Companies employing between one and 99 people allocated 31 percent of the budget to hardware, compared with 29 percent in companies of five thousand people or more. This could be explained by the greater need to spend money on managed services in larger companies. Not all companies can reduce their spending While COVID-19 has the overall effect of reducing IT spending, not all companies will face the same experiences. Setting up employees to comfortably work from home can result in unexpected costs, as can adapting to new operational requirements. In a recent survey of IT buyers, 18 percent of the respondents said they expected their IT budgets to increase in 2020. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As of March 2025, there were a reported 5,426 data centers in the United States, the most of any country worldwide. A further 529 were located in Germany, while 523 were located in the United Kingdom. What is a data center? A data center is a network of computing and storage resources that enables the delivery of shared software applications and data. These facilities can house large amounts of critical and important data, and therefore are vital to the daily functions of companies and consumers alike. As a result, whether it is a cloud, colocation, or managed service, data center real estate will have increasing importance worldwide. Hyperscale data centers In the past, data centers were highly controlled physical infrastructures, but the cloud has since changed that model. A cloud data service is a remote version of a data center – located somewhere away from a company's physical premises. Cloud IT infrastructure spending has grown and is forecast to rise further in the coming years. The evolution of technology, along with the rapid growth in demand for data across the globe, is largely driven by the leading hyperscale data center providers.

Worldwide spending on data center systems is projected to reach over, *** billion U.S. dollars in 2025, marking a significant ** percent increase from 2024. This growth reflects the ongoing digital transformation across industries and the increasing demand for advanced computing capabilities. The surge in data center investments is closely tied to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technologies, particularly with the wake of generative AI. AI chips fuel market growth The rise in data center spending aligns with the booming AI chip market, which is expected to reach ** billion U.S. dollars by 2025. Nvidia has emerged as a leader in this space, with its data center revenue skyrocketing due to the crucial role its GPUs play in training and running large language models like ChatGPT. The global GPU market, valued at ** billion U.S. dollars in 2024, is a key driver of this growth, powering advancements in machine learning and deep learning applications. Semiconductor industry adapts to AI demands The broader semiconductor industry is also evolving to meet the demands of AI technologies. With global semiconductor revenues surpassing *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023, the market is expected to approach *** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. AI chips are becoming increasingly prevalent in servers, data centers and storage infrastructures. This trend is reflected in the data centers and storage semiconductor market, which is projected to grow from ** billion U.S. dollars in 2023 to *** billion U.S. dollars by 2025, driven by the development of image sensors and edge AI processors.

The global number of Facebook users was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2027 by in total 391 million users (+14.36 percent). After the fourth consecutive increasing year, the Facebook user base is estimated to reach 3.1 billion users and therefore a new peak in 2027. Notably, the number of Facebook users was continuously increasing over the past years. User figures, shown here regarding the platform Facebook, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

How many people use social media?

              Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2024, over five billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over six billion in 2028.

              Who uses social media?
              Social networking is one of the most popular digital activities worldwide and it is no surprise that social networking penetration across all regions is constantly increasing. As of January 2023, the global social media usage rate stood at 59 percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser developed digital markets catch up with other regions
              when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of mobile devices. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and Northern Europe.

              How much time do people spend on social media?
              Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage. On average, internet users spend 151 minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of 40 minutes since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media.

              What are the most popular social media platforms?
              Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide. In June 2023, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.

The global social media penetration rate in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 11.6 (+18.19 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the penetration rate is estimated to reach 75.31 and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the social media penetration rate of was continuously increasing over the past years.

The global information technology (IT) spending on devices, including PCs, tablets, mobile phones, printers, as well as data center systems, software, and communications services came to *** trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. By 2025, IT spending is expected to increase to a staggering *** trillion dollars worldwide. IT services and communication services take the largest share of spending Both IT services and communication services receive the largest amounts of investments, as these segments include a large array of different services and tools that remain cornerstones to different business functions. For example, different unified communication services are vital to connecting employees virtually and therefore enhance business productivity. Spending on IT segments accelerates digital transformation In general, spending on the different IT segments is expected to grow, accelerating digital transformation across various industries. Digital transformation encompasses the utilization of artificial intelligence, process automation, and moving data to the cloud, for example. These processes are empowered by strategic spending on and deployment of different information technologies.

By 2025, forecasts suggest that there will be more than ** billion Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices in use. This would be a nearly threefold increase from the IoT installed base in 2019. What is the Internet of Things? The IoT refers to a network of devices that are connected to the internet and can “communicate” with each other. Such devices include daily tech gadgets such as the smartphones and the wearables, smart home devices such as smart meters, as well as industrial devices like smart machines. These smart connected devices are able to gather, share, and analyze information and create actions accordingly. By 2023, global spending on IoT will reach *** trillion U.S. dollars. How does Internet of Things work? IoT devices make use of sensors and processors to collect and analyze data acquired from their environments. The data collected from the sensors will be shared by being sent to a gateway or to other IoT devices. It will then be either sent to and analyzed in the cloud or analyzed locally. By 2025, the data volume created by IoT connections is projected to reach a massive total of **** zettabytes. Privacy and security concerns   Given the amount of data generated by IoT devices, it is no wonder that data privacy and security are among the major concerns with regard to IoT adoption. Once devices are connected to the Internet, they become vulnerable to possible security breaches in the form of hacking, phishing, etc. Frequent data leaks from social media raise earnest concerns about information security standards in today’s world; were the IoT to become the next new reality, serious efforts to create strict security stands need to be prioritized.

Facebook received 73,390 user data requests from federal agencies and courts in the United States during the second half of 2023. The social network produced some user data in 88.84 percent of requests from U.S. federal authorities. The United States accounts for the largest share of Facebook user data requests worldwide.

The global big data analytics market will grow with a compound annual growth rate of almost ** percent in the coming years, with revenue reaching over ** billion U.S. dollars by 2025 from around ** billion U.S. dollars in 2019.

The global big data and business analytics (BDA) market was valued at ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and is forecast to grow to ***** billion U.S. dollars by 2021. In 2021, more than half of BDA spending will go towards services. IT services is projected to make up around ** billion U.S. dollars, and business services will account for the remainder. Big data High volume, high velocity and high variety: one or more of these characteristics is used to define big data, the kind of data sets that are too large or too complex for traditional data processing applications. Fast-growing mobile data traffic, cloud computing traffic, as well as the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) all contribute to the increasing volume and complexity of data sets. For example, connected IoT devices are projected to generate **** ZBs of data in 2025. Business analytics Advanced analytics tools, such as predictive analytics and data mining, help to extract value from the data and generate business insights. The size of the business intelligence and analytics software application market is forecast to reach around **** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Growth in this market is driven by a focus on digital transformation, a demand for data visualization dashboards, and an increased adoption of cloud.

Total IT spending worldwide is expected to increase by ** percent in 2025, with spending on data center systems forecast to increase by **** percent. Demand for data center capacity has surged amid the adoption of data intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud.

How much time do people spend on social media?

              As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in
              the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively.
              People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general.
              During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately 83 percent selected increased exposure as a benefit of social media marketing. Increased traffic followed, mentioned by 73 percent of the respondents, while 65 percent cited generated leads.

              The multibillion-dollar social media ad industry

              Between 2019 – the last year before the pandemic – and 2024, global social media advertising spending skyrocketed by 140 percent, surpassing an estimated 230 billion U.S. dollars in the latter year. That figure was forecast to increase by nearly 50 percent by the end of the decade, exceeding 345 billion dollars in 2029. As of 2024, the social media networks with the most monthly active users were Facebook, with over three billion, and YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion.

              Pros and cons of GenAI for social media marketing

              According to another 2024 survey, generative artificial intelligence's (GenAI) leading benefits for social media marketing according to professionals worldwide included increased efficiency and easier idea generation. The third place was a tie between increased content production and enhanced creativity. All those advantages were cited by between 33 and 38 percent of the interviewees. As for GenAI's top challenges for global social media marketing,
              maintaining authenticity and the value of human creativity ranked first, mentioned by 43 and 40 percent of the respondents, respectively. Another 35 percent deemed ensuring the content resonates as an obstacle.