Category
Communications
Built for telecoms teams deciding where handset spending is still growing, where it has moved to services, and which markets are worth the next round of investment.
COICOP 8 · WDP 2026.2.3
Information and communication in numbers, 2026 to 2036
USD 2.00T
Spending in 2026
USD 3.00T
Spending in 2036
+USD 1.00T
Added by 2036
4.14%
Annual growth to 2036
USD 245
Per person a year
2.8%
Share of the global wallet
nominal USD, current prices
We map and forecast communication spending across cities.
We can identify the future city markets for communication.
Annual consumer spending on information and communication, 2000 to 2040.
- Tokyo: USD 32bn in 2000
- Osaka: USD 14bn in 2000
- New York City: USD 13bn in 2000
- Seoul: USD 11bn in 2000
- Los Angeles: USD 10bn in 2000
We analyse which demographics will contribute most to that growth.
By spending tier
- Rich: 32.7% of spending in 2026, 49.3% of the spending added by 2036
- Upper middle: 15.1% of spending in 2026, 15.8% of the spending added by 2036
- Core middle: 26.1% of spending in 2026, 21.2% of the spending added by 2036
- Lower middle: 21.6% of spending in 2026, 12.3% of the spending added by 2036
- Poor: 4.5% of spending in 2026, 1.4% of the spending added by 2036
By age band
- 65 and over: 19.1% of spending in 2026, 28.3% of the spending added by 2036
- 45-65: 29.1% of spending in 2026, 28.4% of the spending added by 2036
- 30-45: 21.1% of spending in 2026, 16.2% of the spending added by 2036
- 15-30: 17.1% of spending in 2026, 17.5% of the spending added by 2036
- 0-15: 13.6% of spending in 2026, 9.7% of the spending added by 2036
We break down information and communication into subcategories.
Area is spending in 2026. USD 2.00T across 3 published lines of the model.
Telephone and telefax service
USD 1.69T · 84.7%
Telephone and telefax equipment
USD 246bn · 12.3%
Postal services
USD 60bn · 3.0%
Telephone and telefax service
USD 1.69T · 84.7%
Telephone and telefax equipment
USD 246bn · 12.3%
Postal services
USD 60bn · 3.0%
Five decisions a telecoms team can settle with this data.
01
Market entry and prioritisation
The cities holding the most communication spending today are not the ones adding it fastest. Across the forty largest markets in the model the spread runs from 0.9% a year to 10.9%, which is the difference between a market that transforms by 2036 and one that barely moves. We rank every city on the spending that is forming rather than the spending already there.
02
Pricing and affordability
Spending on information and communication by rich consumers compounds at 5.79% a year, against 1.49% for the poorest. A cheaper range can hold its volume and still be defending a shrinking share of the growth, because the growth is not sitting where the volume is. We map spending power against your own price range in every market you sell in.
03
Category and portfolio strategy
Inside the category, telephone and telefax service compounds at 4.21% a year while postal services manages 3.29%. Those are two different shelf decisions inside one category averaging 4.14%, and the average is what most portfolio reviews are still built on.
04
Segmentation and targeting
Spending on information and communication by the over-65s compounds at 5.69% a year, against 3.10% for the under-15s. In Tokyo the over-65s already hold 25% of the category. A pipeline aimed at the wrong life stage is chasing the slower half of the market, and the gap widens every year to 2036.
05
Demand forecasting and sizing
The category adds $1.00 trillion between 2026 and 2036, and none of it arrives evenly. A capacity decision taken now rests on the market that will exist in ten years rather than the one visible today. We project every market and every year to 2050.
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