Forrester Research is shedding light on the world’s top six ranked digital economies by size. The global digital economy is expected to grow at a 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from $11.8 trillion in 2023 to $16.5 trillion in 2028.
The American digital economy will see a 6.4% growth rate, reaching $6 trillion by 2028. Gains from digital apps are not equally distributed. Major players like Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, and SAP captured 39% of the software market share last year.
Forrester’s estimates are based on financial documents, executive interviews, and internet traffic analysis. The main growth drivers are online retail and online travel, with expected CAGR rates of 9% and 7%, respectively, from 2023 to 2028.
China and the U.S. drive most of the global digital economy, accounting for 42% of global tech spending, despite having only 4.2% of the world’s population and 26% of global GDP share. France, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Germany, the U.S., the U.K., Spain, and Italy are the largest contributors to local digital economies due to their significant technology spending.
By 2028, the digital economy will account for approximately 31% of South Korea’s GDP. This reflects South Korea’s large and balanced digital sector. In contrast, Mexico’s digital economy will contribute about 10% to GDP, and Brazil’s will contribute 8%. South Korea benefits from high consumer and business spending, with room for further growth in government and enterprise tech spending in China and consumer digital spending in Australia.
The report, Global Digital Economy Forecast, 2023-28, measures the size and growth of the digital economy across tech spend, retail, travel ecommerce, insurance ecommerce, ICT exports, chip manufacturing, and data centers.
| Global Digital Economy Forecast | 2022 ($ billions) | 2028 Forecast ($ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $4139 Billion | $6006 Billion |
| China | $3104 Billion | $4700 Billion |
| United Kingdom | $615 Billion | $852 Billion |
| Japan | $499 Billion | $641 Billion |
| Germany | $511 Billion | $750 Billion |
| South Korea | $442 Billion | $648 Billion |
| France | $414 Billion | $607 Billion |
| India | $329 Billion | $736 Billion |
| Canada | $271 Billion | $371 Billion |
| Italy | $181 Billion | $272 Billion |
| Spain | $168 Billion | $262 Billion |
| Australia | $146 Billion | $195 Billion |
| Mexico | $147 Billion | $228 Billion |
| Brazil | $139 Billion | $224 Billion |
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