How Many Data Centers Are There and Where Are They Being Built?

By the end of 2025, there will be 6,111 public data centers worldwide—5,544 colocation sites and 567 hyperscale sites. Asia-Pacific has the highest concentration of data center locations, with Europe and North America following. ABI Research anticipates 8,378 data centers will be in operation by 2030.  

As enterprises continue to digitally transform and leverage advanced technologies, demand for cloud resources and larger data centers has peaked. Although the number of data centers being built worldwide is growing, regional differences exist due to varying regulatory, legal, and space availability factors. Moreover, North America and Europe are already well-established markets for data center construction, leaving room for major growth in other regions. 

Key Takeaways 

• The number of data centers continues to be on the rise. ABI Research's Cloud service team forecasts there to be 6,111 public data centers worldwide in 2025. Colocation sites are far more common, but hyperscale sites are on the rise.
• Generative AI is a key catalyst for data center buildout. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key catalyst for data center expansion. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other Gen AI tools require immense cloud processing power.
• Asia-Pacific has the most data centers globally. While China, Japan, and other Asian countries lead the pack regionally, Europe and North America are not that far behind.  Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are data center hotspots.
• The size of data centers is getting bigger. According to ABI Research findings, large and mega-sized data centers will increase their total share from 28% in 2025 to 43% by 2030. Large AI data center facilities are being built to support data-intensive applications like Gen AI and Agentic AI.
• Hyperscalers are increasingly developing AI data centers. Hyperscale data centers are larger facilities that can house more data and provide more computing power than traditional colocation sites. They are operated by tech giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, Alibaba, and others. These companies are investing billions of dollars to expand their AI data center footprint to Southeast Asia and the  Middle East.

What Is a Data Center?

A data center is a facility built for housing and distributing huge sums of data. The data center has networking infrastructure, such as cooling systems and server racks, that allow third-party enterprises to rent space for computing and data storage needs. The public data center market is divided into two main categories, each experiencing different growth rates and influenced by distinct factors:

• Colocation Data Centers: This category includes any space within a building, owned or leased by a company, that is rented out to third parties for their networking equipment or server storage. Colocation data centers can host multiple companies within one physical building, offering either retail or wholesale space, or both.
• Hyperscale Data Centers: These are large-scale facilities that offer extensive space, power, cooling, and infrastructure to support massive data and cloud computing operations. Hyperscalers include companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud, IBM, and Oracle.
  

Number of Colocation Data Centers by Region, 2024-2030

By the end of 2024, there will be 5,186 colocation data centers worldwide. Growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.6%, the number of colocation data centers will increase to 7,640 by 2030.

Today, Asia-Pacific has the most data centers (1,970 sites) worldwide, followed by Europe (1,640 sites) and North America (1,427 sites). Some of the countries with the most data centers built in these regions include China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, and France.

By the decade's end, ABI Research anticipates Asia-Pacific (2,958 sites), Europe (2,108 sites), and North America (1,803 sites) to sustain the first, second, and third most colocation data center locations, respectively.

Table 1: Number of Colocation Data Centers by Region

Number of Colocation Data Centers by Size, 2024 to 2030

The size of data centers is increasing, driven by the rapidly growing adoption of generative AI and other data-intensive technologies relying on the cloud. While the number of micro and small-sized data centers will decrease throughout the rest of the decade, the construction of large and mega data centers will grow robustly.

Table 2: Number of Colocation Data Centers by Size

Today, large and mega-sized colocation facilities account for only 28% of total data centers worldwide. However, that number will grow to 43% by 2030 as companies build larger data centers that can accommodate AI/generative AI workloads and other data-hungry applications.

By 2030, the aggregate power capacity of large and mega-sized data centers will reach 142,682 Megawatts (MW) and 289,259 MW, respectively.

Hyperscale Data Centers on the Rise

Hyperscale data centers are large, remote facilities with greater cloud computing capacity than enterprise data centers. Cloud service providers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM, Alibaba, and Oracle are investing billions of dollars in building data centers around the world. This will increase the number of hyperscale data centers from 567 in 2025 to 738 in 2030.

AWS has the most data center sites worldwide among all cloud hyperscalers, with 135 as of 2025. By 2030, that number will increase to 185. This gives AWS a market share of roughly 25%. Microsoft Azure (134 sites) and GCP (130 sites) will closely trail AWS through 2030 for the most amount of data centers built.

Table 3: Number of Hyperscale Data Centers by Company

While North America and Europe remain innovation hubs for hyperscale data centers, Asia-Pacific is a faster-growing region. AWS and Google Cloud have announced their plans to build data centers in Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand in the last couple of years. Microsoft currently operates a data center in India and plans to open new facilities in Taiwan and Indonesia.

Cloud hyperscalers have also taken a keen interest in South America and the Middle East & Africa. Although these regions are home to far fewer data centers than other regions, they will experience significant growth in facility construction throughout the decade. Saudi Arabia, with aspirations to become a tech hub in the Middle East, has piqued the curiosity of hyperscaler tech companies. For example, Saudi Arabia’s plans to become a manufacturing hub will necessitate expanding cloud resources. Moreover, as analyzed by ABI Research VP Malik Saadi, billions of dollars are being invested in building AI data center infrastructure in the Gulf states. This growing appetite for cloud-based solutions will present a huge opportunity for data center owners and construction companies.

Frequently Asked Questions           

How Many Data Centers Are There Globally?

According to ABI Research, there will be 6,111 next-generation data centers in operation worldwide in 2025. This number is broken down into 5,544 colocation sites and 567 hyperscale sites. By 2030, this number will jump to 8,378 sites.

How Many Data Centers Will Be Built?

Between 2025 and 2030, ABI Research expects 2,267 data centers to be constructed worldwide. While North America and Europe are already mature markets for data center infrastructure, construction in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East is growing the fastest.

What Are Hyperscale Data Centers?

Hyperscale data centers are larger, remote facilities operated by cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Meta, and Oracle. Hyperscale data centers provide far more cloud computing capacity than enterprise data centers, which is essential for large-scale AI deployments. Hyperscalers are increasingly focusing on building data center facilities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East as these regions digitally transform.

How Many Hyperscale Data Centers Are There?

There were 523 hyperscale data centers worldwide in 2024, with that number increasing to 567 in 2025. Growing at a Compound Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.5%, this number will jump to 738 by 2030. Most hyperscale data centers are built in Asia, followed by Europe and North America.

Who Owns the Most Hyperscale Data Centers?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) owns the most hyperscale data centers, with 135 in operation as of 2025, according to ABI Research forecasts. This barely edges out Microsoft Azure with 134 sites and Google Cloud with 130 sites. Looking ahead, AWS is expected to create some space between itself and other hyperscalers. The company’s anticipated 185 sites owned will safely beat out Azure’s 168 sites.

How Many Data Centers Are There for Google?

Google has 130 data centers as of 2025, meaning it owns the third largest amount of hyperscale data centers worldwide. ABI Research forecasts Google to construct 30 more data centers through 2030, bringing the total number of facilities operated to 160.

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