Internet of things (IoT) has been quite the buzzword in business and, more recently, in consumer electronics. To help understand what the hoopla is all about, I have put together this latest set of internet of things statistics.
These data points cover a wide range of topics including the most up-to-date trends and numbers related to IoT, the impact it is having and is expected to have in the future in different segments, the growth drivers and the key concerns that may act as barriers, and the forecasts of the market size of IoT in various industries.
Exciting Internet of Things Statistics
- There are expected to be more than 64B IoT devices worldwide by 2025.
- By end-2022, 29 billion devices will be on the IoT network.
- By 2022, 100% of the global population is expected to have LPWAN coverage.
- IoT has the potential to generate $4T to $11T in economic value by 2025.
- The main revenue driver for 54% of enterprise IoT projects is cost savings.
- The wearable devices market will be worth $1.1 billion by 2022.
- 97% of organizations feel there are challenges to creating value from IoT-related data.
- The IoT in banking and financial services market size is expected to grow to $2.03B by 2023.
As you would note, one salient feature of predictions on IoT is that there can be wildly varying figures on the number of devices, market size, or investment across different studies.
Even a search for the answer to the seemingly simple question “How many IoT devices are there in 2022” returned remarkably different figures from reputed companies and research bodies. This makes building a coherent story difficult.
Still, even though all forecast figures might not always appear to be in perfect sync, there is a general trend that emerged after consulting enough different pieces of research. They all say we can expect much faster growth in IoT adoption rates across all sectors. In the next four to five years we will see better progress than during the whole of the last decade.
2019 was a breakthrough point, with IoT poised to have a more immediate impact on our lives than, say, robotics or AI.
That said, let’s see how big IoT is in 2022.
Internet of Things Statistics for 2023
Let’s have a look at the IoT statistics in 2022 as device connectivity continues to grow.
1. By end-2022, 29 billion devices will be on IoT.
(Source: Ericsson)
Experts have forecasted a whopping 29 billion connected devices by end-2022—18 billion related to IoT. The 5G network will allow organizations to enter new markets and create new revenue streams.
2. Utility IoT use will garner $129.1 billion by 2032.
(Source: Global News Wire)
The global utility IoT market is expected to hit $129.1 billion by end-2032—with an 11.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Since this sector continues to receive steady support from several governments, market revenue is expected to hit $41.8 billion by end-2022.
3. Global IoT security spending will amount to $1.1 trillion by 2023.
(Source: Exploding Topics)
With its steady increase, global IoT spending is expected to hit $1 trillion by end-2022 and $1.1 trillion by 2023.
4. Building automation will reach $148.6 billion in revenue by 2027.
(Source: Markets and Markets)
What’s more, IoT in automation is expected to gain up to $148.6 billion in revenue by 2027—with a 11.4% CAGR from 2022.
5. The wearable devices market will be worth $1.1 billion by 2022.
(Souce: Statista)
With LTE, WiFi6, and 5G expansion continuing to be a reality, wearable technology adaptation is becoming widespread. There have also been vast developments in crucial technologies like augmented reality, next-generation telepresence, and virtual reality, which has helped with the wearable technology evolution.
According to smart device statistics, the global figures will have grown by 780 million from 2016’s 325 million. The smartwatch market will be the main contributor.
6. Apple with a 36.1% share in the smartwatch market in Q1 2022.
(Source: Counterpoint Research)
According to IoT statistics, Apple continued to lead the smartwatch market with a 36.1% share in Q1 2022—a 14% YoY increase from Q1 2021. Samsung held second place with 10.1%, with an impressive 46% increase in shipments—notably good for the Galaxy Watch 4 series. Huawei and Xiaomi maintained third and fourth positions, respectively.
7. More smart cities will continue to sprout in the near future.
(Source: Enterra solutions)
Cities like Barcelona have already adopted smart technology, and we’re likely to see more examples in the future. According to the Internet of things data for 2021, the technology for this transformation is already available. Decision-makers are very eager to integrate the resources available to improve people’s lives.
So, how will IoT help in cities?
Here are a few examples:
- Traffic decongestion by use of electric aircraft (eVTOL)
- Climate change control by helping cities discover new ways of getting energy as opposed to using fossil fuel.
Internet of Things Market Size
The internet of things promises an exciting journey, making this as good a time as any to familiarize oneself with all that’s happening in this field through these carefully put together stats. Happy reading!
8. How many IoT devices are there? There are expected to be more than 30.9B IoT devices worldwide by 2025.
(Source: Business Insider, IoT Analytics, Gartner, Intel, Statista)
The number of IoT-connected devices globally reached 11.7 billion in 2020. Note that this is higher than the number of mobile devices in use in the world. With new technologies like 5G and an uptick in IoT adoption, companies’ plans to invest in IoT solutions seem to be accelerating.
Of course, estimates vary. Another study is pegging the 2025 estimate at 22 billion. Gartner’s statistics predicted 25 billion IoT devices by the end of 2021. We have also seen very high numbers cited in some other studies (e.g., 200 billion, according to Intel).
9. 127 new IoT devices connect to the internet every second.
(Source: McKinsey Global Institute)
Consumers are more connected than ever, owning an average of four IoT devices that communicate with the cloud. While this presents a valid case for optimism, the consensus seems to be that the adoption rate of IoT is still very slow. Thankfully, there are a number of technological advances taking place that should speed up IoT adoption.
10. Consumer technology spending is set to hit $505 billion by end-2022.
(Source: Statista)
Global consumer electronics spending is forecasted to hit $505 billion by end-2022. The US is one of the largest markets for consumer electronics, with annual spending reaching several hundred billion dollars.
Some emerging, coveted consumer technologies include AR/VR headsets, robotic systems, drones, and on-demand devices.
11. The global IoT market is projected to reach $875 billion in 2025.
(Source: Market Data Forecast)
That will be at a compound annual growth rate of 26.9%.
Compared to 2020, that will be a $544.4 billion increase in value.
12. Security remains IoT industry’s top focus in 2022.
(Source: Velvetech)
2022 IoT trends reveal that the most common concern of users and developers is regarding security, particularly ovecoming challenges and issues connected to it.
In 2021, there were 1.5 billion cyberattacks focused solely on IoT devices. Experts are exploring blockchain technology and end-to-end solutions to help protect user privacy.
13. The IoT healthcare market is expected to reach $158.1 billion by end-2022.
(Source: DataProt)
The industry’s 2021 CAGR was estimated at 28.6%. This exponential growth was caused by the increased demand for IoT devices, mobile apps, cloud platforms, and other technology in healthcare.
14. By 2022, 100% of the global population is expected to have LPWAN coverage.
(Source: McKinsey Global Institute)
Low-power, wide-area networks allow long-range communications among a large number of connected devices at optimized costs and power consumption rates. In 2017, only 20% of the world population was covered by this type of network. Many other advances are helping reduce costs and power requirements to help faster IoT adoption.
Another example is the cost of lidar sensors, essential for autonomous driving, which have become 10 times cheaper in the last decade and are expected to get several times cheaper still in the next few years.
15. The number of cellular IoT connections is expected to reach 3.5B in 2023.
(Source: Ericsson)
The ongoing large-scale deployment in China is the main factor behind the almost doubling of the forecast for the internet of things mobile market. Of the 3.5 billion cellular IoT connections, expected to be present in 2023, 2.2 billion are anticipated to be active in North East Asia.
Industrial IoT Statistics – How Will IoT Affect Businesses?
IoT is bringing huge changes in our lives. Wait until you hear the numbers in terms of money.
16. IoT has the potential to generate $4T to $11T in economic value by 2025.
(Source: McKinsey Global Institute)
The greatest contribution is expected to be from factories ($1.2 to $3.7 trillion), followed by smart cities, health care, retail, non-urban outdoor environments, custom production environments, automotive, home, and office.
17. The industrial internet of things (IIoT) market could add $14.2 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
(Source: Forbes, i-Scoop)
This includes a CAGR of 7.3% through 2020. Morgan Stanley predicted the industrial IoT market size reached $110 billion by 2020 and $124B in 2021.
The top drivers of IIoT growth according to Accenture, include improved operational efficiency, improved productivity, creation of new business opportunities, reduction in downtime, and optimization of asset utilization.
18. Discrete Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics, and Utilities industries are projected to spend $40B each on IoT platforms, systems, and services.
(Source: Statista)
B2C commerce will be spending $25 billion on IoT software and platforms within the next two years. Health care is projected to be spending $15 billion, as are process industries. The bottom line is that there’s going to be a healthy investment in IoT not just in industrial sectors that make obvious sense, but even in areas like retail and government.
19. Of the 1600 actual enterprise IoT projects in progress, the highest were in the segments of Smart City (23%), Connected Industry (17%), and Connected Building (12%).
(Source: IoT Analytics)
According to internet of things statistics, among Smart City projects, nearly half were ongoing in Europe, while in all other segments, the largest share was in the Americas. Smart Agriculture is one area where the APAC region has more projects than Europe and almost as many as the Americas.
20. The main revenue driver for 54% of enterprise IoT projects is cost savings.
(Source: IoT Analytics)
Most enterprise IoT projects focus on cost reduction. Only 35% of IoT projects are used to increase revenue (e.g., by offering new IoT-connected products and services). 24% of projects also increase overall safety (e.g., by offering enhanced monitoring systems with real-time alerts and notifications).
21. The top goal of enterprise IoT deployment varies by country; 23% of Chinese companies use it to increase competitiveness.
(Source: Ovum)
IoT statistics show that not everyone is focused on cost reduction. A more granular study of the main purpose for deploying enterprise IoT found that while cost reduction might be the priority in USA, UK, France, and Australia, in other countries the top goal cold be increasing competitiveness (China, S. Korea, Italy, Mexico), improving business processes (Germany, Japan, Brazil), or improving customer experience (Spain).
22. 58% of manufacturers say IoT is required to digitally transform industrial operations.
(Source: GE)
Sector-wise break-up of manufacturing shows that the reliance on IIoT applications is the highest in power and energy (64%), aviation and aerospace (62%), and utilities (58%). This survey by GE also found that investment costs are the biggest barrier to preventing faster adoption of IIoT in manufacturing.
23. More than 80% of senior executives across industries, on average, say IoT is critical to some or all lines of their business.
(Source: Statista)
The highest percentage of senior execs saying this is in the technology, media, and telecommunications industries, followed by financial services and energy utilities & mining.
Internet of things statistics show that 28% execs, on average, plan to invest in IoT security in the next 12 months. The variation is much wider (33% to 54%) in response to the query whether they are “very confident” they are building sufficient digital trust controls into their IoT programs. They are the least confident when it comes to consumer markets.
24. Real-world business benefits gained from IoT have been known to exceed original expectations by 16 to 17 percentage points.
(Source: Fierce Electronics)
This ‘expectations dividend’ is seen in both business efficiency and profitability. According to a worldwide survey of IT and business decision-makers, only 29% of executives expected that their IoT strategies would result in business efficiency improvements.
Actual results showed that 46% experienced gains in efficiency. Similarly, while only 16% of the business leaders projected a large increase in profits because of their IoT investment, 32% ended up with IoT-driven profit gains. IoT trends show that these business benefits are encouraging other decision-makers to mark out budgets for IoT adoption.
25. 93% of enterprises are believed to have adopted IoT technology.
(Source: Fierce Electronics, Security Today)
A booming 77% of executives in the sector believe IoT technology will allow them to transform offices into a smart workplace. 59% of them use IoT for monitoring and maintenance, while 55% use it for location-based services.
Key benefits from IoT for the enterprise segment include increased IT effectiveness and an innovation boost. The most common IoT tech consists of mobile devices, energy meters, and smart appliances.
26. 58% of manufacturers see IoT as a strategic necessity for transforming industrial operations.
(Source: DataProt)
The importance and effectiveness of IoT are not limited to specific industries. Over three-fifths of organizations see this technology as necessary in digitizing their operations. The goal is to find new ways to improve efficiency—where SaaS (and corresponding) companies thrive.
27. The Internet of Medical Things sector is estimated to reach $158 billion by 2022.
(Source: Link Springer)
Patient monitoring is the number one use of IoT in the health care sector, followed by remote operation and control and location-based services. Executives here mention increased innovation as the top benefit from IoT, along with high numbers for organization visibility and cost savings. Energy meters, X-rays, and imaging devices also make use of IoT.
For these reasons, experts predict a $158 billion valuation of the IoMT sector in 2022, up from $41 billion in 2017. The recent COVID-19 crisis has hastened the process of hyper-growth of the industry.
28. IoT in retail markets is predicted to grow to $35.5 billion in 2025.
(Source: Globe News Wire)
For comparison, a 2020 forecast showed the growth would be at $14.5 billion, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.6%.
If you’re wondering how IoT is used in retail, in-store IoT-based location services can deliver personalized offers and product information to shoppers. They also serve monitoring, maintenance, and even surveillance purposes.
The most common IoT technologies used in the sector are barcode readers, personal mobile devices, and building systems related to refrigeration and security. Future benefits include increased productivity, expansion into new markets, and more customer referrals.
29. The government sector is the slowest to adopt IoT.
(Source: Internet of Business)
IoT statistics showed that over 78% of government professionals reported that the implementation of machine-learning technologies is either underway or completed.
According to the same study, more than 70% of public sector agencies evaluate the potential of emerging technologies, but only about 25% are moving beyond the pilot phase to full implementation.
30. Companies could invest up to $15 trillion in IoT by 2025.
(Source: DataProt)
Companies are noticing the vast number of advantages that come with adopting IoT devices in their business operations.
As a result, IoT statistics show that clothing manufacturers, healthcare providers, and municipalities are investing heavily in this technology.
IoT Business Adoption Statistics
Governments and companies are starting to invest more and more in IoT. Here’s why it makes sense.
31. In terms of average implementation percentage of high potential use cases by industries, telecom is the leader at 36%.
(Source: Capgemini)
High potential use cases in telecom include monitoring of inventory, remote monitoring and management of telecom base stations, and environment monitoring for telecom equipment.
Other leading sectors are industrial manufacturing (33%; production asset maintenance, manufacturing intelligence, and product quality optimization) and consumer products (27%; manufacturing intelligence and monitoring shipment conditions).
The lowest implementation of high potential use cases across IoT market segments is seen in energy & utilities (18%) and automotive (17%).
32. According to enterprise executives, the US leads in deploying IoT in operations at full scale.
(Source: Capgemini)
This is followed by the UK (41%) and Germany (35%). The US lead can be attributed to significant venture capital investment. According to an estimate, over two-thirds of the IoT startups funded in the 2012-2017 period were based in the US. Along with the innovation in the core IoT stack of sensors, platforms, and predictive analytics, there is a strong focus from startups on security solutions for IoT as well.
33. Samsung was the top patent holder in the IoT consumer electronics sector in Q1 2022.
(Source: DataProt)
In Q1 2022, Samsung held 820 patents in the consumer electronics sector—the most patents in the smartphone IoT devices industry. LG followed suit with 524 patents, while Huawei, Qualcomm, and Sony had 490, 485, and 479, respectively.
34. 29% of developers favor Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite for enabling connected devices in their software projects.
(Source: Cowen)
Google Cloud IT (24%), Amazon AWS IoT (19%), and Cisco IoT Services (13%) are the next two most-preferred platforms. AWS was more popular with respondents from smaller organizations (28% versus 9%). Googe’s Cloud IoT is being adopted more by employees in larger companies (37% vs. 15%).
35. While over 98% of business leaders have an understanding of the internet of things, stats show that many are unclear of the exact definition of the term.
(Source: Fierce Electronics)
More importantly, many business leaders aren’t sure what IoT means for their business. This results in IoT not being implemented properly or being put to very basic uses instead of being utilized for the high potential it has to transform processes.
According to Kevin Ashton, the tech visionary who coined the term IoT, it means “sensors connected to the internet and behaving in an internet-like way by making open, ad hoc connections, sharing data freely and allowing unexpected applications, so computers can understand the world around them and become humanity’s nervous system.”
36. 84% of organizations that have adopted IoT have experienced an IoT-related security breach.
(Source: Fierce Electronics)
IoT trends show that external attacks and the increased probability of data breaches remain the greatest barriers to embracing IoT in a more comprehensive manner for most organizations.
A holistic IoT strategy that is built on strong network access control and policy management is needed when organizations are planning their IoT investment. Other major barriers to adoption include cost (50%), maintenance (44%), and integration of legacy technology (43%).
37. The global IoT security market will be worth $61.6 billion by end-2028.
(Source: GlobeNewswire)
With the rising adoption rates of IoT in such industries as healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, real estate, transportation, government, the cyberattacks threats have also led to an increase. Recent IoT security stats reveal that at this rate, the market will be worth $61.6 billion by end-2028.
38. 97% of organizations feel there are challenges to creating value from IoT-related data.
(Source: Fierce Electronics)
Even though 98% of organizations using IoT are extracting a mass of data from their processes, making sense of this data remains a hurdle. Well over a third (39%) of businesses are not extracting or analyzing data within corporate networks, and are thereby missing out on insights that could improve business decisions.
39. By 2023, the average CIO will be responsible for more than three times the endpoints they managed in 2018.
(Source: Gartner)
What is the future of the internet of things from the perspective of people who have to manage it? The proliferating array of new IoT networks and the sensor devices supporting them because of emerging business models and the revenue streams they represent will require CIOs to consider a wider range of aspects to ensure the smooth running of their organization’s systems. Cybersecurity, of course, will be one of the key areas of concern as the world gets more connected.
40. The North American IoT market is expected to be worth more than $500B in 2022.
(Source: Statista)
The North American IoT market’s value will see steady year-on-year growth from a little under $300 billion in 2017. The division of market revenue by application shows the largest pie for consumer electronics in 2020, followed by transportation. The growth of the internet of things consumer electronics market in North America is predicted at a CAGR of 12.25% from $90 billion in 2017 to $180 billion in 2022.
41. The retail IoT market will be valued at $94.44 billion by 2025.
(Source: DataProt)
Apart from the healthcare industry, the most recent boom in IoT has been in the retail sector with the advent of barcode readers. These simple yet valuable devices have made data management much more seamless. Recent studies show that by 2025, this market is set to be worth up to $94.44 billion—with a CAGR of 21.5%
42. The global automotive internet of things market is expected to grow to $104.2B by 2023.
(Source: Business Wire, Markets and Markets, Business Insider)
There were 220 million connected cars on the road in 2020, and 90% of all new cars by 2040 are expected to be connected through IoT. The automotive IoT market was valued at $15.87 billion in 2015, indicating a CAGR of 26.5% over the eight-year period.
The three areas driving growth in automotive IoT are in-vehicle communication (route information, travel times, incident reports), infotainment, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
43. The global healthcare IoT market will be worth $158B in 2022.
(Source: Markets and Markets)
IoT statistics for the healthcare market show a projected growth at CAGR of 30.8% from 2017 when the healthcare IoT market was valued at $41.22 billion. Telemedicine was the biggest component of healthcare IoT in 2017.
The greatest growth is expected from systems and software, which include remote device management, network monitoring tools, data analytics, application security, and network security solutions. Geography-wise, the greatest growth is expected from the Asia-Pacific region.
44. The global IoT market can generate between $4 and $11 trillion by 2025.
(Source: DataProt)
However, the IoT boom appears to be strongest in the industrial sector. It’s predicted that industries will contribute between $1.2 and $3.7 trillion to the global IoT revenue by 2025. Factories constitute a significant source of global IoT revenue. Healthcare sectors in the Americas and smart cities in Europe are also important sources of growth.
45. The value of the global smart homes market was $58.7B in 2020.
(Source: Statista)
Internet of things statistics for 2020 for the worldwide smart homes market show an estimated growth at a CAGR of 19.31% rising from $20.38 billion in 2014. Growth drivers include increasing implementation of smart speakers, home appliances, lighting control systems, home healthcare products, smart furniture, smart kitchen, and HVAC control solutions.
46. The global IoT in Education market size is expected to grow to $11.3B in 2023.
(Source: Markets and Markets)
An increased use of connected devices in schools and colleges, fast adoption of e-learning, and wide availability of cloud-based solutions have meant that IoT already has a fairly strong presence in the field of education across the world. In 2018, the worldwide market value of IoT in education was $4.8 billion and was expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.8% through 2023.
47. The IoT in Banking and Financial Services market size is expected to grow to $2.03B by 2023.
(Source: Markets and Markets)
IoT forecasts for the banking and financial services market predict growth at a CAGR of 52.1% from $0.17 billion in 2017. The major driving forces of the market include the increasing use of IoT devices for connected banking and the convergence of operational technology and information technology.
Within financial services, the fastest growth is expected in the insurance sector where IoT will help companies in more effectively determining insurance prices and providing services based on data gathered from smart devices. The Internet of things statistics from 2022 confirm this trend.
48. The global IoT in the manufacturing market size is projected to reach $45.3B by 2022.
(Source: Markets and Markets)
The worldwide IoT in the manufacturing market was valued at $10.45 billion in 2016 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 29% through 2022. The major factors driving the growth of the IoT in the manufacturing market are the growing need for centralized monitoring and predictive maintenance of manufacturing infrastructure, the advent of the latest communication technologies, and the need for agile production and operational efficiency.
According to the Internet of things statistics, there’s increasing adoption of cloud services, convergence in operational technologies (OT), and IT. Furthermore, the growing number of intelligent connected devices and cost reduction are some of the other factors supporting the overall growth of the market.
49. IoT devices are expected to have generated 73.1 ZB of data by 2025.
(Source: DataProt)
IoT trends indicate that the devices will generate exponentially more data in the coming years. The number is expected to reach 73.1 ZB by 2025. This number equates to a 422% increase in output from 2019 (17.3 ZB).
To put things in perspective, one zettabyte is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.
Conclusion
The Internet of Things is likely to experience exponential growth in the coming years. More companies plan to integrate the technology to manage and control data.
It’s paramount to note that there may be more data breaches, as IoT expansion continues. Therefore, both individuals and companies will need to enhance their security to mitigate any attacks.
