Number of data centers worldwide 2022, by country

As of January 2022, 2,701 data centers were in the United States, with a further 487 data centers located in Germany. The United Kingdom ranked third among countries in terms of the number of data centers with 456, while China recorded 443.

What is a data center?

A data center is a network of computing and storage resources that enables the delivery of shared software applications and data. These centers can house large amounts of critical and important data, and therefore are vital to the daily functions of companies and consumers alike. As a result, whether it is a cloud, colocation, or managed service, data center real estate will have increasing importance worldwide.

Hyperscale data centers

In the past, data centers were highly controlled physical infrastructures, but the cloud has since changed that model. A cloud data service is a remote version of a data center – located somewhere away from a company's physical premises. Cloud IT infrastructure spending has grown and is forecast to rise further in the coming years. The evolution of technology, along with the rapid growth in demand for data across the globe, is largely driven by the leading hyperscale data center providers.