27 Incredible Internet of Things Statistics

The world of connected devices is growing by the day. Internet of things statistics paint a picture of a future so connected that the digital and the tangible world could almost become one. 

Yet, there are still people confused as to what IoT is. 

Luckily, we’re here to help.

Here’s the thing: 

The easiest way to describe it is as the remote use of your household systems, cars, personal wearable devices, and connected entertainment systems. But a massive implementation of IoT systems is used in manufacturing, agriculture, and health industries. Modern transport and delivery services would be unimaginable without IoT, as would be the world of finance.

As a result, cities are becoming smart and interconnected, IoT industry statistics show. And once the current and potential security risks are dealt with, the Internet of Things will be one of the greatest improvements in urban living.

But don’t just take our word for it – let’s look into the stats.

Mind-Blowing Internet of Things Facts (Editor’s Choice)

• Worldwide IoT spending is expected to reach US$1.1 trillion in 2023.
• 81% of Canadian businesses used some form of IoT systems in 2020.
• Global IoT Revenue adjusted for the effects of the pandemic was estimated at  US$381 billion in 2020.
• More than 20 billion IoT devices were in use globally in 2020.
• There will be around 300 million smart homes worldwide by 2023.
• There will be around 300 million smart homes worldwide by 2023.
• Canada and the US were responsible for 40% of global smart home spending in 2020.
• The global healthcare IoT market size was estimated at US$332.67 billion in 2020.

General Internet of Things Statistics

1. The projected worldwide IoT spending will reach US$1.1 trillion in 2023.

(Source: Statista)

This would represent a considerable growth from the US$749 billion spent in 2020. In terms of regional distribution, Asia-Pacific has the highest spending share, followed by North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  

2. People used more than 20 billion IoT devices in 2020. 

(Source: Eclature, Statista, IoT Analytics)

Some statistics report there were already a whopping 22 billion IoT devices back in 2018. Others estimate around 21.7 billion existed in 2020. 

Why is that?

The market is huge, and the data varies. But it’s safe to say that the number is well over the predicted 20 billion. According to the IoT devices usage statistics, there are around 20 billion smart devices used by humans.  

The use of IoT goes beyond houses and convenience. It’s an integral part of many industries and sectors, most of all:

• Vehicles
• Manufacturing
• Wearable devices
• Smart home systems
• Supply chains
• Agriculture
• Healthcare
• Energy

3. There will be 50 billion interconnected units in 2030.

(Source: Statista, Statista, Statista)

The number of IoT devices by 2025 is estimated to grow to 21.5 billion units, and will more than double by 2030.

The communications segment (with 5.9 billion units) and the consumer/commercial and industrial electronics segment (with 5.4 billion units) dominated the market in 2018. As for the insane amount of data being transferred, the total data volume of connected IoT devices worldwide will be a mind-boggling 79.4 zettabytes in 2025.

Let that sink in for a minute.

4. Global IoT Revenue adjusted for the effects of the pandemic was estimated at  US$381 billion in 2020.

(Source: Finances Online)

The pre-pandemic IoT forecasts for 2020 were 9% higher. With that in mind, the estimate for 2025 has been adjusted to US$906 billion, a full US$200 billion less than originally anticipated. Other sources put the 2020 figure at US$742 billion, 8.2% less than the 14.9% growth predictions.

5. The industrial IoT market in 2020 was US$77.3 billion.

(Source: Statista, Finances Online)

This number is projected to grow to US$110.6 billion by 2025. The total 2020 investment of companies in the global IoT market was estimated at US$832 billion.

6. In 2020, 81% of Canadian businesses were using some form of IoT systems.

(Source: Rogers, ReadWrite, The Manifest)

The IoT adoption rate in Canada reveals that only 45% of companies were using one or more IoT systems in 2016. This was lower than the United States adoption rate even if constantly growing.

Now:

Up to 55% of Canadian companies planned to increase their internet of things investments in a year’s time and had 20 million IoT devices shipped. Foreign investment in Canada also contributes to this proliferation.

If you’re looking into how to invest in the internet of things, here are some of the biggest IoT companies in Canada

• Macadamian
• Guaraná Technologies
• Jellyfish Technologies
• Sidekick Interactive
• Ingeno
• Dac Digital
• TheAppLabb
• Convverge, Inc.
• Synergo Group
• Capermint Technologies Pvt Ltd

Smart Home Internet of Things Statistics 

7. There will be around 300 million smart homes worldwide by 2023.

(Source: Statista, Statista, Statista)

Let’s have a look at some global smart home internet of things facts:

• 71% of buyers worldwide think smart home technology is easy.
• Global household penetration is at 12.2% in 2021 and should reach 21.4% by 2025.
• Household penetration in the US is expected to be 40.0% in 2021 and grow to 57.2% by 2025.
• There will be 283.6 million control and connectivity devices in 2023.
• 70% of business consumers find voice assistants “revolutionary.”
• 409.4 million smart speakers will be shipped in 2025.
• 366 million smart light control units will be shipped worldwide in 2024.
• The top bought devices in the US are speakers (31%), thermostats (24%), and lighting (20%).

8. Smart home market revenue is expected to be US$141 billion by 2023. 

(Source: Statista)

The interconnected devices within a household make a house a smart home. According to internet of things devices statistics, North Americans were the top buyers of smart home systems and services in 2020. The projections were that Canada and the US would account for 40% of worldwide spending in this category.  

9. The US smart home market will reach US$28.864 billion in revenue in 2021.

(Source: Statista, Value Penguin)

Here are some of the key smart home figures:

• According to IoT statistics for 2021, the CAGR rate between 2021 and 2025 is expected to be 12.82%.  
• The projected smart home market volume in the US is US$46.767 billion by 2025.
• The average smart home revenue per household is US$552.78.

10. Global consumers spent over US$115 billion on smart home systems in 2020. 

(Source: Statista, Statista, Statista)

Smart home, one of the fast-growing IoT segments, is expected to reach US$157 billion by 2023, with the US as the global leader in revenue generation. The control and connectivity segment alone should go up to $30 billion.

Here are some of the segment predictions and facts:

• IoT technology statistics show the number of IoT platforms in 2019 was 620, double the number in 2015.
• Consumer spending on smart home systems was $91 billion in 2018.

11. One-third of smart speaker sales are through Chinese vendors.

(Source: Statista)

Internet of things technology has proved extremely useful in developing innovative entertainment devices and systems.

Check this out:

Home entertainment units and interconnected devices are at the top of the IoT market. Smart speakers alone are projected to reach 409 million unit shipments in 2025. China dominates the speakers market, with one-third of 2019 global smart speaker sales coming from Xiaomi, Baidu, and Alibaba.

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Smart Home Statistics Canada

12. The Canadian smart home market will hit US$3.409 billion in 2025.

(Source: Statista)

The Canadian smart home market is about to reach US$2.189 billion in 2021, with massive revenue growth of 25.2%. The projected annual revenue growth rate from 2021 to 2025 is 11.70%, which will increase the market to $3.409 billion in the next four years.

13. More than half of Canadians say they don’t have any smart home devices.

(Source: Statista, Statista)

2020 internet of things statistics for Canada reveal 56% of respondents said they don’t own a smart home device.

Let’s have a look at the percentages of connected devices in Canadian smart homes:

• Comfort and lighting 22%
• Smart speakers with a virtual assistant 22%
• Safety and security – alarms, cameras, smoke detectors 18%
• Energy management 17%
• Smart appliances 13%
• Multi-room audio systems 11%
• Other 16%

The current average revenue per installed smart home in Canada is estimated at around US$492.96.

14. 61% of Canadians have a positive impression of smart home products.

(Source: Newswire)

In 2019, 78% of Canadians said they were planning to buy more smart home technology within the next year. However, 46% said that’s unlikely. 

What’s more:

As many as 68% felt they just don’t need it, 40% were worried about their privacy. Finally, the smart home gadgets were simply too expensive for 36% of respondents. 

15. The household penetration rate of smart home devices in Canada is estimated at 27.9% in 2021, internet of things facts reveal.

(Source: Statista, Brandon Donnely)

The total Canadian household penetration rate for 2022 was estimated to reach 31.3% and go on to 34% in 2023 before hitting 46.6% by 2025. This is significantly lower than the estimated US penetration rate of 53.9% in 2023.

16. Smart cities save 80 litres of water per person every day.

(Source: Visual Capitalist, Finances Online)

And not only that: 

Smart cities lower gas emissions, cost of lighting, and reduce waste. Here’s the percentage of reductions in the environmental protection category in smart cities as per the latest IoT industry statistics:

• There is a 10% to 15% gas emissions reduction.
• Smart waste systems reduce waste collection costs by 20%. 
• A 20% to 30% water consumption reduction is observed in smart cities.
• Smart lights reduce street light costs by 30%. 
• There’s a 10% to 20% reduction in unrecycled waste. 
• There’s a 3% to 15% reduction in the effect bad air quality has on health. 

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that global IoT investment statistics show investments in smart cities were estimated at US$124 billion in 2020.

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Internet of Things Security Statistics

17. The market for IoT security will reach US$16.8 billion by 2026.

(Source: StrategyR, Finances Online)

Security services in IoT are in high demand. Here’s the market share percentage of some of the categories in the IoT security sector in 2020:

• 28.6% modules and sensors
• 21.3% ongoing IoT services
• 14.2% connected IT and installation services
• 11.7% IoT application software

18. 98% of IoT device traffic is unencrypted.

(Source: Finances Online)

IoT communications and traffic are far from secure at the moment, as virtually all of it is unencrypted.

According to internet of things hacking statistics, the most common IoT security threats are:

Exploits threats, with 41%, out of which:

• 14% goes to network scan
•  5% remote code execution
•  5% command execution
•  5% buffer overflow
•  5% classifies as “others”
•  4% SQL injection
•  3% zero-day

Malware threats, with 33%, out of which:

• 12% worm
•  8% ransomware
•  7% backdoor trojan
•  6% botnet

User practice threats, with 26%, out of which:

• 13% passwords
•  8% phishing
•  5% cryptojacking 

19. 83% of desktop devices have no support for threats to IoT devices.

(Source: Finances Online)

Even though the number of threats is rising, most desktop internet connected devices have low or no security and support. 

There is no support for 83%. Looking at each one:

• 56% Windows 7
• 11% Windows XP
• 7%  Embedded
• 4%  Linux
• 3%  Unix
• 2%  Windows (other)

Active support is available for only 17%, and it includes:

• 11% Windows 10
• 2% Embedded
• 2% Linux
• 2% Windows 8.1 

20. Integrating with existing technology (53%) and security (50%) are the top challenges for IoT integration.

(Source: Finances Online)

GSMA Intelligence finds that the other major challenges of IoT enterprise integration are related to:

• 47% cost of implementation
• 40% internal resistance or  employee resistance
• 38% not enough in-house skills
• 27% ROI 

21. IoT increases emergency response time by up to 40%.

(Source: Visual Capitalist)

IoT use in smart cities can improve overall safety and wellbeing greatly.

Here’s by how much exactly:

• Between 30% and 40% faster emergency response time
• 8% to 10% reduction in crime 
• 8% to 10% fewer fatal outcomes
• 10% to 15% faster emergency service arrival
• 10% decrease in street crime from street monitoring

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Internet of Things Statistics for other Sectors

22. There will be 76.3 million connected cars in 2023.

(Source: Statista)

There are more than a billion motor vehicles in the world. Connected cars today go beyond their own systems, integrating with smart cities and homes. Along with safety and convenience, these vehicles also reduce gas emissions.

In 2019, worldwide sales reached 28.5 million units. And by 2023, there will be 76.3 million connected cars, with Europe as the leading market. However, the Canadian auto industry and its counterpart south of the border are also catching up.

But wait! There’s more:

The global internet of things market forecast for the connected car segment is US$166 billion by 2025. Click To Tweet

Finally, the global revenue generated by the in-car connected services market is expected to reach US$81.1 billion by 2030.

23. The global healthcare IoT market size was estimated at US$332.67 billion in 2020.

(Source: Help Net Security, Finances Online)

The growth rate of IoT spending in healthcare was 14.5% in 2020. The compound annual growth rate of the market from 2020 to 2027 is projected to be 13.2%, with the US and Canadian healthcare systems among the leaders.

24. Challenges for IoT in the healthcare industry are security-related in 89% of cases, internet of things statistics confirm.

(Source: Finances Online)

The widespread use of IoT in healthcare has its own set of challenges, security being the primary one. Other issues are malware in 49% of cases, human error in 39%, and DDoS in 22% of cases.

25. The education internet of things market was worth US$5.31 billion in 2019.

(Source: Help Net Security, Finances Online)

The growth rate of the IoT education segment was 11.9% in 2020. CAGR from 2020 to 2027 is expected to be an impressive 17.74%.

26. The global market for IoT in agriculture will be worth US$30 billion in two years.

(Source: Statista, Statista)

In 2018, revenues in agricultural IoT amounted to US$14.79 billion. IoT is widely implemented in agriculture and growing every day. The global market size for the agricultural internet of things is expected to grow to a massive $30 billion in 2023.

27. The compound annual growth rate of the smart apparel market from 2020 to 2027 is projected at 24.4%.

(Source: Finances Online)

Smart clothing is a rapidly growing market. So, it should come as no surprise that its CAGR rate for the period from 2020 to 2027 is estimated to be an astonishing 24.4%, which is equivalent to US$6.42 billion.

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The Bottom Line

The fast-growing IoT and artificial intelligence market is unpredictable right now. Unexpected events often push the numbers up beyond the forecasts IoT industry statistics reveal.

So, if you plan to invest in the IoT market, the odds seem to be in your favour because the industry doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon.

What’s more:

Internet of things statistics puts the number of connected devices in the world at a mind-blowing 50 billion within ten years’ time. It remains to be seen just how accurate the estimates are, as they’re likely to be looking at past experience. 

In any event, though, these are exciting times for the internet of things. We’re seeing a wide variety of industries embrace it wholeheartedly and reap its numerous benefits.