With data centres able to store large amounts of essential data, they continue to be essential to enterprise operations, as well as consumer needs.
As a result, the global data centre market is continuously growing, with new technologies like AI putting greater pressure on data centre companies and technology giants to innovate. With businesses continuing to expand their data centre presence around the world, we consider the countries that contain the most data centre sites in 2024.
These figures are according to Statista, accurate as of February 2024.
10. Japan (218)
Currently, Japan is experiencing skyrocketing demand for data and data centres. In 2021, the Japanese data centre market was valued at 1.58 trillion Japanese yen (US$10.78bn) and is now projected to grow by over 41%, reaching a value of 2.24 trillion yen (US$15.3bn) by 2027.
As a result, the country is continually working to boost its data centre presence, with companies like NTT investing in new data centres to expand their use of generative AI (Gen AI).
9. Russia (255)
Russia is keen to continue expanding its data centre landscape, with Moscow accounting for roughly 70% of the country’s data centre space. In August 2023, Rosatom acquired an under-construction data centre in Moscow for 24 billion rubles (US$237m).
Despite not having many recent data centre developments, it is projected that the Russian data centre market will soon see growth, with investments anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 6.12%, between 2023 and 2028, according to Research and Markets.
8. Netherlands (299)
As a global digital hub, Amsterdam attracts many technology companies. Many of these suppliers, designers, builders and designers are located in Randstad, in order to be close to the network. Statista projects that the data centre market in the Netherlands will reach US$4.25bn in 2024, with network infrastructure dominating the market at US$2.38bn.
Leading data centre companies like Iron Mountain, Equinix, Digital Realty and Google continue to invest in their data centre sites across the Netherlands, aiming to utilise renewable power to reduce carbon footprint.
7. Australia (306)
Australia is working to enhance its data centre developments, with Statista projecting that the data centre market will reach US$5.01bn in revenue in 2024. It is also expected that Australian data centres will reach 2.67 thousand MW in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 3.60% to reach 3.18 thousand MW by 2029.
Plenty of companies have invested in the country’s data centre infrastructure. For instance, ThreatLocker is aiming to support the Australian government’s new cybersecurity strategy by launching an advanced data centre to enhance the country’s cybersecurity capabilities.
6. France (314)
France - Paris in particular - is a well-established key data centre region in Europe and is home to plenty of new data centre facilities developed by leading companies like Digital Realty and Blackstone.
In February 2024, Equinix signed one of the largest Power Purchase Agreement deals in French history with energy company wpd. With the deal facilitated by Schneider Electric, it plans to build wind farms to further decarbonise the grid.
Additionally, NTT has invested in Paris to grow its data centre presence across Europe, committing to expanding Gen AI capabilities.
5. Canada (335)
With more than 300 data centres across the country, the Canada data centre market is expected to reach US$5.48bn by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 8.71%. In 2022, the market was valued at US$3.32bn - showcasing the country’s rapid digital growth.
In November 2023, tech giant Microsoft announced that it would be spending US$500m to expand its data centre infrastructure in eastern Canada by building multiple data centres in Quebec. This is part of its plan to advance its AI and cloud computing infrastructure in the region.
4. The People’s Republic of China (448)
With the People’s Republic of China continuing to rise as a global technology powerhouse, the country is rapidly journeying towards data centre growth in the midst of increased AI adoption and supply chain transformation.
The country has been pioneering new data centre solutions, including its first underwater data centre near Hainan Island, China. Proposed by data centre company Highlander, it hopes to eventually deploy 100 modules at the site, saving 68,000 square metres of land, along with 122 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 105,000 tons of freshwater per year.
3. UK (517)
With more than 500 data centres already, the UK data centre market is set to undergo significant growth, going from a value of US$14.64bn in 2023 to a projected US$18.73bn by 2028. Already established as a leading nation in science and technology, the UK is home to a range of innovative companies such as Google DeepMind and Darktrace.
Given that the data centre industry in the UK is continuing to boom, large technology organisations have been keen to invest. In particular, Google has announced a new data centre just outside of London in an attempt to grow its European data centre presence.
2. Germany (522)
One of the leading countries for data centre development in Europe, Germany boasts the second-largest number of data centres worldwide. Currently, the German data centre market size is estimated at 1.72 thousand MW in 2024 and is expected to reach 2.36 thousand MW by 2029.
As reported by Data Centre Dynamics, the country is the first to experience serious legislation relating to data centres. It is expected that Frankfurt will soon overtake London and become the first European nation with two true data centre hubs.
Companies like CyrusOne and VIRTUS Data Centres continue to build and invest in their multiple data centre sites in Germany.
