The report finds the global market for video surveillance hardware and software experienced a slight decline of 0.3 percent in 2024, due largely to a significant China market decline of 7.8 percent.
The global video surveillance market dropped slightly in 2024, according to the latest market
report by Novaira Insights. The decline had to do with a significant drop in the Chinese market. Markets outside China, meanwhile, performed better and are expected to see good growth in the years to come.
Novaira Insights has just released its new report, titled “World Market for Video Surveillance Hardware and Software – 2025 Edition.” The report finds that the global market for video surveillance hardware and software experienced a slight decline of 0.3 percent in 2024. This was due largely to a significant China market decline of 7.8 percent, which was offset by a growth of 4.9 percent for the rest of the world. Overall, the global market for video surveillance equipment was estimated to be worth US$25 billion in 2024, the report said.
According to the report, the Chinese market’s downturn is linked to reduced government spending on video surveillance, which had been redirected towards COVID-19 response and economic support during lockdowns in 2022. “Government funding and focus on the surveillance industry has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Novaira insights has revised down its forecasts compared with previous years for the Chinese market, and we are pessimistic regarding its ability to return to a high growth market,” the report said.
China’s (and the world’s) biggest video-based security companies, Hikvision and Dahua, have already announced their 2024 full-year and 2025 Q1 results, which offer some insights. For 2024, Hikvision
reported total revenue of RMB 92.5 billion, marking a 3.53 percent year-on-year growth. This however is much smaller than the 7.42 percent recorded for 2023-2022. Dahua, meanwhile, had 2024 revenue of RMB 32.2 billion, a 0.12 percent decline year-on-year. For Q1 2025, though, Hikvision reported year-on-year growth of 4 percent, while Dahua 1.22 percent.
Indeed, it’s a bit surprising to see China underperforming in 2024 after having a good year in 2023, when all but two Chinese companies on asmag.com’s annual
Security 50 ranking reported revenue increases. It remains to be seen how the video surveillance market will move forward in China, which still has a strong and robust domestic market where aggressive efforts are made to advance smart cities, smart transportation and smart factories, all of which require video surveillance. Furthermore, perhaps mostly importantly, China is on the forefront of AI development. Hikvision has launched a series of
cameras powered by their “Guanlan” large-scale AI, which is trained with large amounts of datasets to make detection more accurate and precise compared to previous-generation AI. Not to be outdone, Dahua has announced their “Xinghan” large-scale AI which can be applied in various scenarios, including
smart city. How these advanced AI technologies will further drive China’s video surveillance market is worth observing.
Positive outlook for rest of world
Outside of China, Novaira Insights notes that 2024 revenue growth also fell short of earlier forecasts. The report cites as a key factor geopolitical developments and elections in several countries – including India, the United States, Mexico, France and Germany – which led to disruption to government project spending and budgetary cycles.
As for 2025, the global security and video surveillance markets still face various uncertainties. The war in Ukraine is ongoing; the Middle East is facing more unrest. The global trade war launched by US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is raising concerns that imports to the U.S. will be subject to price increases, which will eventually be absorbed by end users. Already the US Security Industry Association has pled with the Department of Commerce to
exempt from the tariffs list various security-related products, including camera systems.
Despite these uncertainties, however, Novaira Insights notes the outlook for the global market excluding China looks good, with growth expected to “accelerate through the rest of the decade.” The report forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 percent for the global market excluding China from 2024 to 2029, attributing the growth to robust expansion in emerging markets such as India, Latin America, and the Middle East, along with increased demand for cloud solutions in established markets like North America and Western Europe.
The macro trends identified in the report include the transition to cloud technology and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in video surveillance. “The USA and Canadian markets are leading the shift towards cloud-based solutions, with significant growth in recurring cloud video management software revenues. Additionally, AI technologies are enhancing video analytics performance, approaching a majority of new camera shipments to include deep learning powered video analytics capabilities on their embedded chipsets. This plus the renewed drive towards system wide intelligent automation is propagating AI use across surveillance systems,” the report says.