Global Data Center Market Comparison
An analysis of 20 key variables for hyperscale and colocation operators, occupiers and developers across 97 global markets.
Key Evaluation Metrics
High levels of operational capacity indicate market strength and maturity, serving as evidence of captured demand and successful data center projects. Large markets typically experience steadier demand due to established talent pools for building and operating data centers, robust infrastructure and scalability. The advantages of large markets—including steady demand, greater access to cloud service providers, the presence of known operators, a diverse customer base, experienced talent pools, supportive local governments and scalability—make them highly appealing to both clients and operators. Globally, 13 markets boast operational capacities exceeding 1GW.
Data center demand continued to grow rapidly worldwide, with the development pipeline revealing unmet needs when comparing total capacity planned or underway to capacity that has been preleased. Capacity under construction signals strong investment in individual markets, while prelease rates highlight existing unmet demand. Planned developments, on the other hand, reflect longer-term growth potential beyond the three-to-five-year under-construction pipeline. Nine markets have 100% of under-construction capacity already committed and two planned markets show the same.
As highlighted in the 2024 Global Data Center Market Comparison, the largest hyperscale tenants are fully committed to reducing their carbon footprint in all facets of operations, with data centers at the forefront. As 2030 net-zero goals approach, many hyperscale self-builds and large-scale developments increasingly incorporate renewable energy infrastructure and sustainability initiatives. Wind and solar farms are being planned alongside deployments exceeding 100MW, underscoring the critical role of energy infrastructure for the largest facilities. While European markets lead in renewable energy as a share of total production, opportunities exist in every global region.
Americas
Power availability remains the top consideration for data center developers, with operators in the Americas seeking two- to three-year delivery timelines but often facing delays of five years or more. Where utility providers can’t provide power sooner, some operators have partnered with power companies to build substations, transmission lines, or to tap into microgrid power. Growing demand for large-scale power, abundant land and relaxed latency requirements for AI has also driven hyperscalers and operators to expand into historically peripheral markets like Indianapolis, Kansas City and the Carolinas. While these emerging markets have been gaining traction, they still trail established markets in development pipelines.
| Established Markets | Emerging Markets |
|---|---|
| 01/ Virginia | 01/ Austin / San Antonio |
| 02/ Phoenix | 02/ Iowa |
| 03/ Dallas | 03/ Pennsylvania |
| 04/ Atlanta | 04/ Reno |
| 05/ Oregon | 05/ Minneapolis |
| 06/ Columbus | 06/ Kansas City |
| 07/ Salt Lake City | 07/ Nashville |
| 08/ Chicago | 08/ Indianapolis |
| 09/ Carolinas | 09/ Central Washington |
| 10/ Sao Paulo | 10/ Santiago |
|
01/ Virginia
|
02/ Phoenix
|
02/ Dallas
|
04/ Atlanta
|
05/ Oregon
|
06/ Columbus
|
07/ Salt Lake City
|
08/ Chicago
|
09/ Carolinas
|
10/ Sao Paulo
|
01/ Austin/San Antonio
|
02/ Iowa
|
03/ Pennsylvania
|
04/ Reno
|
05/ Minneapolis
|
06/ Kansas City
|
07/ Nashville
|
08/ Indianapolis
|
09/ Central Washington
|
10/ Santiago
|
APAC
Asia Pacific ended 2024 with 1.6GW of new capacity coming online, bringing the region’s total operational capacity to 12.2GW. The development pipeline remains strong, with an additional 14.4GW of capacity under construction or planned. Key drivers like 5G deployments, cloud adoption, digital content consumption and IoT adoption continue to fuel demand in Asia Pacific’s data center sector. These fundamentals have attracted significant investment in the sector, supported by rising occupancy rates, stable rental yields, long-term returns and hyperscale/colocation expansions. With these factors at play, Asia Pacific is well-positioned for sustained growth over the next three to five years.
| Established Markets | Emerging Markets |
|---|---|
| 01/ Beijing | 01/ Auckland |
| 02/ Shanghai | 02/ Brisbane |
| 03/ Sydney | 03/ Busan |
| 04/ Johor | 04/ Pune |
| 05/ Melbourne | 05/ Bengaluru |
| 06/ Guangzhou | 06/ Perth |
| 07/ Mumbai | 07/ Canberra |
| 08/ Osaka | 08/ Taipei |
| 09/ Seoul | 09/ Batam |
| 10/ Singapore | 10/ Hanoi |
|
01/ Beijing
|
02/ Shanghai
|
02/ Sydney
|
04/ Johor
|
05/ Melbourne
|
06/ Guangzhou
|
07/ Mumbai
|
08/ Osaka
|
09/ Seoul
|
10/ Singapore
|
01/ Auckland
|
02/ Brisbane
|
03/ Busan
|
04/ Pune
|
05/ Bengaluru
|
06/ Perth
|
07/ Canberra
|
08/ Taipei
|
09/ Batam
|
10/ Hanoi
|
EMEA
Most data center markets in EMEA continue to face significant challenges, including limited land availability, power constraints, and strict sustainability regulations, all of which impact costs, timelines and investment certainty. Despite these hurdles, the FLAPD markets continue to lead, with Milan now joining their ranks. The region’s operational capacity has grown to 9.4GW, backed by a strong development pipeline that signals further growth in both the near and medium term. Sustainability efforts continue to accelerate across the region, and gigawatt-scale campuses—much like those surfacing in the Americas—are increasingly in demand.
| Established Markets | Emerging Markets |
|---|---|
| 01/ London | 01/ Abu Dhabi |
| 02/ Frankfurt | 02/ Dubai |
| 03/ Amsterdam | 03/ Berlin |
| 04/ Paris | 04/ Helsinki |
| 05/ Madrid | 05/ Zurich |
| 06/ Milan | 06/ Munich |
| 07/ Stockholm | 07/ Oslo |
| 08/ Dublin | 08/ Warsaw |
| 09/ Brussels | 09/ Reykjavik |
| 10/ Johannesburg | 10/ Tel Aviv |
|
01/ London
|
02/ Frankfurt
|
02/ Amsterdam
|
04/ Paris
|
05/ Madrid
|
06/ Milan
|
07/ Stockholm
|
08/ Dublin
|
09/ Brussels
|
10/ Johannesburg
|
01/ Abu Dhabi
|
02/ Dubai
|
03/ Berlin
|
04/ Helsinki
|
05/ Zurich
|
06/ Munich
|
07/ Oslo
|
08/ Warsaw
|
09/ Reykjavik
|
10/ Tel Aviv
|
Want more information about data centers?
Subscribe to stay updated on the quickly evolving data center sector.
Subscribe
Related Insights
Research
Get an overview of top Americas data center markets.
John McWilliams • 2/24/2025
Research
EMEA Data Centre Market Update
Between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, the operational capacity of EMEA’s data centre markets rose by 6.6% to reach 9.3GW, with about 256MW of new supply added in the first half of 2024.
Laura Shepherd • 2/5/2025
Research
A new trinity for measuring data centre sustainability
Explore how Power Usage Efficiency (PUE), in combination with Water Usage Efficiency (WUE) and Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) can form a more holistic measure of sustainability performance for data centres.
Vivek Dahiya • 9/12/2022
Instant Insight: Data Center Success Leads to Sustainability Questions
As data centers thrive worldwide, questions are being asked about sustainability and environmental impact.
Andrew Fray • 11/9/2021
