2026-08-01
Data center statistics
Key numbers on the data center market — capex, capacity, pricing, AI demand — each with a source. Free to cite with attribution.
Market size & capex
Global data center capex will approach $1 trillion in 2026 and reach $1.7 trillion annually by 2030.
Cumulative data center investment need for 2025–2030 is estimated at $6.7 trillion, of which $5.2 trillion is for AI capacity.
The colocation market is worth $91–104B in 2025 and is projected to reach $165–204B by 2030 (14–16% CAGR).
About 100 GW of new data center capacity will be delivered worldwide in 2026–2030, creating roughly $1.2 trillion of real estate value.
Capacity & demand
Global data center demand is projected to nearly triple to 219 GW by 2030; ~70% of new demand is AI workloads.
AI workloads will grow from ~25% of global data center capacity in 2025 to ~50% by 2030.
North America primary-market vacancy hit a record-low 1.4% at end-2025; Northern Virginia sits at 0.3%.
80% of data center space under construction in the top four US markets is already preleased.
Pricing
North American wholesale colocation averages $196/kW/month (H2 2025), up 6.5% year over year.
Ashburn (Northern Virginia) wholesale rates passed $215/kW/month — an all-time record; 10MW+ blocks rose up to 19% YoY.
Singapore is Asia-Pacific's most expensive colocation market at $330–475/kW/month (avg ≈ $403).
A retail colocation rack (3–5 kW) in the US typically costs $500–1,500 per month.
Colocation Index v1 aggregation
H100 on-demand rental spans $1.49–6.98/GPU·h (Q2 2026); 1-year contracts rebounded 40% to $2.35/GPU·h between Oct 2025 and Mar 2026.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia's data center market will grow from $13.7B (2024) to $30.5B by 2030 (14.2% CAGR).
Thailand is the region's fastest-growing market: 0.77 GW (2025) to a projected 2.93 GW by 2030 (~30.6% CAGR).
Thailand's BOI approved a record THB 746 billion of data center investment applications in 2025 — the #1 sector in the country.
TikTok/ByteDance's approved investment in Thai data centers has grown to roughly $25 billion — the largest project in the country.
Johor, Malaysia has attracted ~$35B in data center investment with a pipeline of up to 7,000 MW; build costs reached $12M/MW.
From February 2026 Malaysia restricts new non-AI data centers over grid and water constraints — a window for Thailand and Vietnam.
Vietnam has Southeast Asia's cheapest data center construction at $6–8M per MW; a data-localization law takes effect Jan 1, 2026.
Power & energy
Big tech contracted 10+ GW of nuclear capacity in twelve months: Microsoft (Three Mile Island restart, 835 MW), Google (Kairos SMRs, 500 MW), Amazon (X-energy, up to 12 SMRs), Meta (up to 6.6 GW).
The first 'nuclear electrons' dedicated to AI data centers are expected in 2027 (Crane Clean Energy Center).
Grid connection — not floor space — is the binding constraint on new data center supply in every major market.
Modern AI halls are designed for 60–130+ kW per rack, making liquid cooling the default for new AI capacity.
Colocation Index v1 aggregation
Thailand's commercial electricity rate is ~THB 4.20–4.55/kWh (≈ $0.12) — 15–20% above Malaysia and Vietnam.