The Internet of Things (IoT) spans connected sensors, machines, gateways and other devices that communicate over networks. The statistics below separate observed counts, forecasts and survey expectations, because IoT Analytics and Ericsson use different definitions and scopes.
Key Internet of Things Statistics
Here are the most broadly useful Internet of Things figures in the supplied research:
- In 2019, 10.0 billion active IoT connections existed worldwide, according to IoT Analytics.
- In 2020, 11.3 billion active IoT connections existed worldwide, excluding consumer computers, phones and tablets.
- In 2021, 12.2 billion active IoT connections existed worldwide, using IoT Analytics’ active-node definition.
- In 2022, 14.4 billion active IoT connections existed worldwide, using the same definition.
- At the end of 2023, 16.6 billion active IoT connections existed globally, up 15% from 2022.
- IoT Analytics forecast 18.8 billion active IoT connections worldwide by the end of 2024, a 13% annual increase.
- IoT Analytics forecast 41.1 billion active IoT connections worldwide in 2030.
- From 2021 to 2023, 5G IoT connections had a 147% global CAGR, reflecting a small emerging base.
- From 2021 to 2023, low-power-wide-area IoT connections had a 35% global CAGR.
- Global enterprise IoT spending grew 10% in 2024, the lowest annual growth rate IoT Analytics had observed since 2014.
- In 2024, IoT infrastructure-as-a-service spending grew 22% globally in the enterprise IoT market.
- In 2024, IoT software-as-a-service spending grew 21% globally in the enterprise IoT market.
- In a 2024 planning survey, 51% of enterprise IoT adopters planned to increase their IoT budget.
- By summer 2024, 54% of companies had rolled out or were rolling out real-time tracking and inventory projects.
- In 2023 Ericsson IndustryLab research, 50% of enterprises that considered remote control important had not fully utilized it.
- Ericsson forecast 3.9 billion cellular IoT devices globally at the end of 2024.
- Ericsson forecast 6.7 billion cellular IoT devices globally at the end of 2029.
- Ericsson forecast wide-area IoT connections to double from 3.3 billion globally in 2023 to 6.6 billion in 2029.
- Ericsson forecast about 39 billion IoT-related connected devices globally in 2029, within a broader total of about 50 billion connected devices.
Contents
- Global connected-device scale and growth
- IoT connection trends by network technology
- Enterprise IoT spending and budget statistics
- IoT adoption for tracking and connected operations
- Cellular, wide-area and 5G IoT statistics
- IoT forecasts for devices, data and digital tools
Global Connected-Device Scale and Growth
IoT Analytics counted 10.0 billion active IoT connections worldwide in 2019, rising to 11.3 billion in 2020, 12.2 billion in 2021 and 14.4 billion in 2022. Its definition counts active nodes, devices or gateways and excludes consumer computers, phones and tablets.
| Period | Active IoT connections worldwide | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 10.0 billion | Observed |
| 2020 | 11.3 billion | Observed |
| 2021 | 12.2 billion | Observed |
| 2022 | 14.4 billion | Observed |
| End of 2023 | 16.6 billion | Observed; 15% year-over-year growth |
| End of 2024 | 18.8 billion | Forecast; 13% annual increase |
Source: State of IoT 2024: Number of connected IoT devices growing 13% to 18.8 billion globally. The 2023 growth rate is rounded, and the 2024 forecast was published in September 2024 and is subject to economic and supply-chain conditions.
IoT Analytics forecast 21.5 billion active IoT connections in 2025, 24.5 billion in 2026, 28.3 billion in 2027, 32.2 billion in 2028, 36.5 billion in 2029 and 41.1 billion in 2030. These are forecasts rather than observed installed-base counts.
IoT Connection Trends by Network Technology
Network choice varies with range, power consumption, bandwidth and deployment setting. IoT Analytics reported the following global compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for 2021–2023:
| Technology category | CAGR, 2021–2023 | Scope or definition |
|---|---|---|
| WPAN | 12% | Bluetooth, Zigbee and Z-Wave-like technologies |
| WLAN | 18% | Wi-Fi and related protocols |
| Non-5G cellular | 21% | Excludes 5G and LPWA cellular IoT |
| LPWA | 35% | Licensed and unlicensed low-power wide area |
| Wired | 4% | Ethernet and field-bus connections |
| WNAN | 15% | Non-short-range mesh such as Wi-SUN |
| 5G | 147% | Small, rapidly emerging base |
| Other | 21% | Satellite and unclassified proprietary networks |
Source: State of IoT 2024: Number of connected IoT devices growing 13% to 18.8 billion globally. The 5G figure is a historical growth rate, not a forecast; IoT Analytics forecast 5G IoT connections to grow at a 62% CAGR from 2023 to 2030.
Enterprise IoT Spending and Budget Statistics
Global enterprise IoT spending grew 10% in 2024, which IoT Analytics described as its lowest observed annual growth rate since it began covering the market in 2014. Growth differed sharply by category: controllers and gateways spending declined 8%, while infrastructure-as-a-service spending grew 22% and software-as-a-service spending grew 21%.
The spending picture also included a 17.3% growth rate for wireless-connectivity IoT services in 2023 and 17.7% in 2024. In the second half of 2024, software-related investments represented 45% of the 20 largest IoT-related startup investments, a top-20 subset rather than the entire startup-investment market.
Source: State of enterprise IoT in 2025: Market recovery, AI integration, and upcoming regulations.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| India enterprise IoT spending | 2024 | 14% year-over-year growth |
| Enterprise IoT adopters planning a larger budget | 2024 planning survey | 51% |
| Adopters expecting at least 10% budget growth | 2024 planning survey | 22% |
| Enterprise IoT spending outlook | 2025–2030 forecast | 14% CAGR |
Source for the table: State of enterprise IoT in 2025: Market recovery, AI integration, and upcoming regulations and State of IoT 2024: Number of connected IoT devices growing 13% to 18.8 billion globally. The budget percentages describe survey intentions, not realized spending, and India’s figure is enterprise IoT spending rather than total national IoT revenue.
IoT Analytics forecast enterprise IoT spending to grow at a 14% CAGR through 2030. It forecast IoT SaaS and IaaS spending each to grow at more than 20% CAGR through 2030, while controllers and gateways spending was forecast to recover at a 4.5% CAGR.
IoT Adoption for Tracking and Connected Operations
By summer 2024, 54% of companies in IoT Analytics use-case research had rolled out or were rolling out real-time tracking and inventory projects. The source reported that this adoption share was 35 percentage points higher than in 2021; the measure combines deployed and in-progress projects.
Ericsson IndustryLab’s 2023 research shows how utilization differs among enterprises. Half of enterprises that considered remote control important had not fully utilized it, while more than 20% of enterprises in that remote-control group were classified as scalers; approximately 25% of enterprises in the asset-monitoring group were scalers.
More than 70% of low-utilizer decision-makers identified operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and capex/opex reduction as key benefits. This is a reported group of benefits, not a measure of realized savings.
Source: Future of digitalization with 5G, Cloud, AI & XR.
The same 2023 IndustryLab research found that more than 60% of decision-makers identified regulation, solution seamlessness or cellular coverage as threats to IoT market growth. Among high-utilizer decision-makers, 75% identified regulation as a key challenge; an average 67% of cross-industry decision-makers identified system integration as a key challenge.
For asset monitoring, 63% of high utilizers and 54% of scalers identified cellular coverage as a key challenge. The populations are subgroup measures, not failure rates for all IoT deployments.
Cellular, Wide-Area and 5G IoT Statistics
Wide-area connectivity provides a different lens from short-range device counts. Ericsson expected global wide-area IoT connections to double from 3.3 billion in 2023 to 6.6 billion in 2029.
| Ericsson measure | Period | Global figure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellular IoT devices | End of 2024 | 3.9 billion | Forecast |
| Cellular IoT devices | End of 2029 | 6.7 billion | Forecast |
| Wide-area IoT connections | 2023 | 3.3 billion | Forecast series baseline |
| Wide-area IoT connections | 2029 | 6.6 billion | Forecast |
Source: Ericsson Annual Report 2024 and Future of digitalization with 5G, Cloud, AI & XR. These measures do not represent every short-range IoT connection.
Ericsson also forecast 30 billion connected devices globally in 2024 and about 50 billion in 2029, but those totals include IoT and other connected-device categories. Within the 2029 total, about 39 billion were expected to be IoT-related, including connected cars, machines, meters, sensors, point-of-sale terminals, consumer electronics and wearables.
IoT Forecasts for Devices, Data and Digital Tools
Ericsson forecast 2.3 billion 5G subscriptions excluding cellular IoT at the end of 2024 and 5.6 billion by the end of 2029. It also forecast mobile subscriptions excluding cellular IoT to rise from 8.7 billion in 2024 to 9.4 billion in 2029; these are broader mobile totals, not IoT counts.
Network forecasts provide context but should not be mistaken for IoT traffic measurements. Ericsson forecast mobile video traffic to grow about 19% annually through 2029 and account for more than 80% of all mobile data traffic in 2029, while fixed-wireless-access traffic was forecast to grow about 27% annually from 2025 to 2029 and represent almost 35% of mobile data traffic in 2029.
Source: Ericsson Annual Report 2024. The video and fixed-wireless-access figures describe mobile-network traffic, not IoT traffic alone.
Ericsson IndustryLab found that infrastructure companies had a 28% higher expected mid-term utilization of emerging asset-monitoring tools than laggard segments, using a composite comparison across XR, low-power sensors, AI and digital twins. In the same 2023 research, 73% of infrastructure decision-makers expected their companies to use XR for asset monitoring within three to five years, and 84% expected use of digital twins within that period.
Almost 80% of finance-industry decision-makers expected their enterprises to use digital twins for asset monitoring within three to five years. These figures are expectation surveys, not confirmed adoption measurements, and the “scalers” and industry groups retain Ericsson’s research classifications.
Source: Future of digitalization with 5G, Cloud, AI & XR.