47 Stunning Internet of Things Statistics 2021 [The Rise Of IoT]

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, TechJury has 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 the end of 2020, 5.8 billion automotive and enterprise gadgets wеre on IoT.
• 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 2021” 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 2021.

Eye-Opening Internet of Things Statistics for 2021

Let’s have a look at the IoT statistics in 2021 as device connectivity continues to grow.

1. By the end of 2020, 5.8 billion automotive and enterprise gadgets were on IoT.

(Source: Gartner)

There will be a 21% increase in the number of endpoints in 2020 compared to 2019’s figures. Going by the last two years, 2018 had 3.96 billion, while 2019 had 4.81 billion devices.

2. Utility IoT use increased by 17% in 2020.

(Source: Gartner)

According to the Internet of Things stats for 2020 predictions, utility endpoints will increase by 200 million from the year before. Think of both commercial and residential electricity smart power metering, for instance, surveillance cameras.

3. Global IoT security spending will amount to $3.1 billion by 2021.

(Source: i-scoop)

As the number of IoT endpoints continues to grow, so does the potential of security threats. Each attack surface offers an entry point to internet criminals, which could expose entire networks to hacking.

However, there’s some good news:

Some businesses and individuals are becoming more aware of the risks ahead and, hence, are adopting proper security strategies for protection. Predictions show that by 2021, spending on security measures will increase by 28% compared to 2018 ($1.5 billion).

Good IoT security practices and strategies still have a long way to go. Therefore, there’s still a great need for more businesses and individuals to get on board in this area of concern.

4. Building automation grew by 42% in 2020.

(Source: Gartner)

Connected lighting devices in the building industry was of the critical drivers of this segment’s highest growth rate in 2020. According to the Internet of things growth statistics, the industry will see 130 million more IoT endpoints compared to 2019 figures. 

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 had a 47.9% share in the smartwatch market in Q1 of 2020.

(Source: Statista)

Apple currently holds the highest smartwatch market share at nearly 50% after shipping 22.5 million devices. The closest competitor is Samsung, with 13.4%. 

Since unveiling the device in 2015, the company has dominated the market ever since. In the first year, the organization shipped 12 million gadgets, instantly overtaking Samsung, the market leader before.

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 64B IoT devices worldwide by 2025.

(Source: Business Insider, IoT Analytics, Gartner, Intel)

According to the latest research, the number of IoT devices globally is believed to have reached 10 billion in 2018. Note that this is higher than the number of mobile devices in use in the world. With 5G on the horizon and an uptick in IoT adoption, companies’ plans to invest in IoT solutions seem to be accelerating.

Estimates vary, of course, with another study pegging the 2018 figure at 7 billion devices and the 2025 estimate at 22 billion. Another set of internet of things statistics by Gartner predicts 25 billion IoT devices by 2021. We have also seen very high numbers being 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 electronics accounted for 63% of all installed IoT units in 2020.

(Source: Statista)

While answers to the query “How many connected devices will there be in 2020?” may vary across different studies, the consensus is that consumer electronics account for the largest segment of the internet of things market. Its share of the market will remain at around 63% between 2018 and 2020.

11. The global IoT market was worth $1.7T in 2019.

(Source: Statista)

The global IoT market is projected to nearly double in size between 2014 and 2017, passing the $1 trillion mark. By 2019, the global IoT market is forecast to be valued at more than $1.7 trillion. Consumer electronics is the largest component of the global IoT market.

12. Hardware accounted for 35% of this $1.7T market value.

(Source: PwC)

An internet of things market analysis in terms of where actual value comes from shows a slight dominance of hardware, which is projected to have a market value of $585B. Services will account for 27% (XaaS 12% and IT and installation services 15%), Connectivity for 22%, and Software for 16%.

13. Business investment accounted for more than 50% of the overall IoT spending in 2020.

(Source: PwC)

Business investment grew from $215 billion in 2015 to $832 billion in 2020, while consumer-driven spending will grow from $72 billion in 2015 to $236 billion in 2020. This represents a slightly higher growth in business spending as compared to consumer spending on IoT in the 5-year period. Government-spending will add an extra $500 billion or so to the total spend on IoT in 2020.

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 is predicted to reach $124B in 2021.

(Source: Forbes, i-Scoop)

This includes a CAGR of 7.3% through 2020. Morgan Stanley predicts the industrial IoT market size reached $110 billion by 2020. According to Accenture, IIoT could add $14.2 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The top drivers of IIoT growth 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 in 2019.

(Source: Fierce Electronics)

77% executives in the sector believe IoT technology will allow them to transform offices into a smart workplace. 59% use IoT for monitoring and maintenance, while 55% use it for location-based services. Key benefits from IoT for the enterprise segment includes increased IT effectiveness and an innovation boost. The most common IoT tech consists of mobile devices, energy meters, and smart appliances.

26. 92% of industrial organizations have adopted IoT in some way in 2019.

(Source: Fierce Electronics)

IoT stats show that 68% of the business leaders in this sector use IoT for monitoring and maintenance and 54% for remote operations. Benefits include increased business efficiency, greater innovation, and better visibility across the organization. The most common IoT tech in the industrial sector includes chemical sensors, picking systems, and cranes and forklifts. Decision maker further expect to see a reduction in operational risks and downtime. All in all, IoT inspires a lot of expectations, and somehow it still manages to exceed them.

27. 87% of healthcare organizations have started using IoT technology in some way in 2019.

(Source: Fierce Electronics)

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. Patient monitors are by far the most commonly used IoT tech in the sector. Energy meters and X-rays and imaging devices also make use of IoT. According to internet of things statistics, creation of new business models and improvement of collaboration with colleagues and patients are two of the many additional benefits healthcare executives see accruing from their IoT investments.

28. 79% of retail organizations used IoT in 2019, up from 49% in 2017.

(Source: Fierce Electronics)

In-store IoT based location services can deliver personalized offers and product information to shoppers. They also serve for monitoring, maintenance, and even surveillance purposes. These are the top uses for IoT in retail. Improved customer experience is the greatest benefit retail executives see from IoT implementation, followed by improved organization-wide visibility and increased profitability. The most common IoT technology being used in the sector right now are barcode readers, personal mobile devices, and building systems related to refrigeration and security. Future benefits include an increase in productivity, expansion into new markets, and receipt of more customer referrals.

29. The government sector is the slowest to adopt IoT, with 68% of decision-makers using it in some form in 2019.

(Source: Fierce Electronics)

60% of government leaders using IoT are using it for monitoring and maintenance, while 45% are doing so for location-based services. According to IoT statistics for this sector, increased innovation, efficiency, and visibility across the city are the key benefits of adoption. Building security systems, street lights, and vehicles are the most commonly used elements of IoT tech. Future benefits include cost savings, better asset, and equipment utilization, and better collaboration across departments.

IoT Business Adoption Statistics

Governments and companies are starting to invest more and more in IoT. Here’s why it makes sense.

30. 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%).

31. 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.

32. Samsung is the top patent holder in the IoT industry in 2019 with 9,550 patents to its name.

(Source: Statista)

The other toppers in IoT IP are QUALCOMM Incorporated (8,545) Intel Corporation (4,313 patents) and Ericsson (3,093). It’s obvious that the bulk of these patents are related to the telecom and consumer electronics sectors. The top patent holders in software, automotive, and industrial sectors are also usual suspects like IBM and Microsoft; Toyota, Bosch, and Hyundai; and Honeywell, GE, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi. The encouraging take away from this set of internet of things facts is that patent holdings are spread over several players with no single company or small group of companies holding the bulk of the patents.

33. 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%).

34. While over 98% of business leaders have an understanding of 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.”

35. 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%).

36. Spending on IoT endpoint security solutions will increase to $631M in 2021.

(Source: Gartner)

This will represent growth at a CAGR of 21.38%, considering that the estimation of the endpoint security solutions in IoT market size by Gartner for 2016 was at $240 million. Worldwide IoT security spending will increase from $912 million in 2016, soaring to $3.1 billion in 2021, attaining a 27.87% CAGR in the forecast period.

37. 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.

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. The IoT market was worth $581B for ICT-based spending alone by 2020, growing at a CAGR of between 7 and 15%.

(Source: McKinsey & Company)

Software infrastructure and applications accounted for 38% of overall IoT spending in 2020, with Solutions Services a close second with 30% of global spending. Hardware ranks third with about 20% of the overall spend, followed by Security and Connectivity.

41. 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.

42. The global healthcare IoT market will be worth $158B in 2022.

(Source: Markets and Markets)

IoT statistics for the healthcare market shows 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, but 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.

43. The global IoT in the retail market was projected to grow to $35.64B in 2020.

(Source: Markets and Markets)

The IoT in retail market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% from USD 14.28 billion in 2015 driven by the increase in demand because of the internet’s ubiquity, the wider use of cloud platforms, the increasing use of mobile apps, and the declining cost of sensors and RFID.

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. 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 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 2021 confirm this trend.

47. 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 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.

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.