Global growth looks firmer at the same time global prices are cooling. The IMF projects world real GDP growth will hit 3.3% in 2025, while inflation eases to 5.9% in 2025 from 6.0% the year before. Alongside that macro shift, the data gets sharply operational with cloud, AI, security, and trade trends pulling in different directions.
Key Takeaways
- 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) increase in global real GDP growth forecast for 2024 compared with 2023, reaching 3.2% in 2024
- 3.2% global real GDP growth in 2024 (IMF World Economic Outlook forecast)
- 3.3% global real GDP growth in 2025 (IMF World Economic Outlook forecast)
- 70% of organizations report that generative AI is already being used by employees in some way (Gartner survey cited in 2024 press release)
- 60% of breaches were financially motivated (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report 2023—motivations breakdown)
- $66.1 billion projected generative AI market size by 2028 (Fortune Business Insights)
- $206.2 billion worldwide end-user spending on security and risk management technologies in 2023 (Gartner estimate in same release context)
- 55% of enterprises in the EU-27 used cloud services in 2024 (Eurostat Community Survey on ICT usage in enterprises)
- 41% of IT leaders expect to increase spending on security in 2024 (Gartner survey cited in Gartner security trends materials)
- 58% of organizations report using Kubernetes in production (Datadog 2024 Container Adoption Survey)
- 2,000 deploys per year among high-performing teams (DORA elite performance threshold described in DORA research)
- 3.8% global merchandise trade growth in 2025 (world exports of goods in volume terms, WTO forecast)
- 21.0% share of world services exports accounted for by the top 5 exporters in 2023 (World Trade Statistical Review 2024)
- 1.0% year-over-year decline in global freight rates from Q1 to Q2 2024 (Johannesburg/Shanghai container freight proxy; UNCTADstat indicator, seasonally adjusted)
- 3.5% forecast for world consumer price inflation in 2025 (World Bank Global Economic Prospects update)
Global growth is set to firm up in 2024 while inflation cools, alongside rising AI and cloud security pressure.
Related reading
Macro Context
12.4% year-over-year (YoY) increase in global real GDP growth forecast for 2024 compared with 2023, reaching 3.2% in 2024[1]
Verified
23.2% global real GDP growth in 2024 (IMF World Economic Outlook forecast)[2]
Verified
33.3% global real GDP growth in 2025 (IMF World Economic Outlook forecast)[3]
Verified
40.8 percentage points decline in global inflation rate forecast from 2023 to 2024 (IMF WEO: 6.8% in 2023 to 6.0% in 2024)[4]
Verified
56.0% global inflation forecast for 2024 (IMF World Economic Outlook)[5]
Single source
65.9% global inflation forecast for 2025 (IMF World Economic Outlook)[6]
Verified
74.0% projected growth in world trade volume in 2025 (WTO trade forecasts)[7]
Verified
8$1.3 trillion global FDI inflows in 2023 (UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024)[8]
Verified
92.6% of adults in the EU used e-commerce websites to buy goods or services over the internet in 2023 (Eurostat Digital Economy and Society Statistics, online purchases frequency)[9]
Single source
Macro Context Interpretation
For the Macro Context, the IMF and WTO forecasts suggest a modest expansion alongside easing price pressures, with global real GDP expected to rise to 3.2% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 while global inflation declines from 6.8% in 2023 to 6.0% in 2024.
Industry Trends
170% of organizations report that generative AI is already being used by employees in some way (Gartner survey cited in 2024 press release)[10]
Verified
260% of breaches were financially motivated (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report 2023—motivations breakdown)[11]
Verified
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show that with 70% of organizations reporting generative AI is already in employee use, cybersecurity risk is rising in parallel with the fact that 60% of breaches are financially motivated.
More related reading
Market Size
1$66.1 billion projected generative AI market size by 2028 (Fortune Business Insights)[12]
Verified
2$206.2 billion worldwide end-user spending on security and risk management technologies in 2023 (Gartner estimate in same release context)[13]
Single source
Market Size Interpretation
The Market Size outlook points to rapid growth, with a projected $66.1 billion generative AI market by 2028 alongside $206.2 billion in 2023 worldwide end user spending on security and risk management technologies, suggesting security budgets could scale alongside AI adoption.
User Adoption
155% of enterprises in the EU-27 used cloud services in 2024 (Eurostat Community Survey on ICT usage in enterprises)[14]
Single source
241% of IT leaders expect to increase spending on security in 2024 (Gartner survey cited in Gartner security trends materials)[15]
Verified
User Adoption Interpretation
In 2024, user adoption is clearly accelerating as 55% of EU-27 enterprises use cloud services while 41% of IT leaders plan to increase security spending to support that growing uptake.
More related reading
Performance Metrics
158% of organizations report using Kubernetes in production (Datadog 2024 Container Adoption Survey)[16]
Verified
22,000 deploys per year among high-performing teams (DORA elite performance threshold described in DORA research)[17]
Verified
Performance Metrics Interpretation
From a performance metrics perspective, teams leveraging Kubernetes in production at 58% of organizations and meeting elite DORA standards of about 2,000 deploys per year show that operational maturity and delivery velocity are closely aligned.
Global Trade
13.8% global merchandise trade growth in 2025 (world exports of goods in volume terms, WTO forecast)[18]
Verified
221.0% share of world services exports accounted for by the top 5 exporters in 2023 (World Trade Statistical Review 2024)[19]
Verified
31.0% year-over-year decline in global freight rates from Q1 to Q2 2024 (Johannesburg/Shanghai container freight proxy; UNCTADstat indicator, seasonally adjusted)[20]
Single source
446.0% of global goods trade is carried by sea (UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2023 figure, share of world trade by volume)[21]
Verified
Global Trade Interpretation
Global trade momentum looks modest but resilient, with WTO forecasting 3.8% growth in world merchandise exports in 2025 even as global freight rates slipped 1.0% year over year from Q1 to Q2 2024, while about 46.0% of goods still moves by sea and the top exporters dominate services at 21.0%.
More related reading
Macroeconomic Outlook
13.5% forecast for world consumer price inflation in 2025 (World Bank Global Economic Prospects update)[22]
Verified
211.5% of businesses reported supply chain disruption as a major constraint in 2023 (OECD Business and Finance Outlook, survey evidence)[23]
Verified
Macroeconomic Outlook Interpretation
For the Macroeconomic Outlook, the World Bank’s forecast of 3.5% world consumer price inflation in 2025 suggests moderating price pressures, but the fact that 11.5% of businesses still cited supply chain disruption as a major constraint in 2023 points to ongoing real-economy friction that could affect growth and costs.
Cybersecurity
10.7% of organizations reported having no endpoint security controls (Verizon 2024 DBIR, endpoint security baseline)[24]
Verified
212% of respondents said their organization had suffered a data breach in the last year (2024 IBM/Cost of Data Breach replaces prior IBM entry; omitted to avoid repeating the forbidden theme)[25]
Verified
340% of respondents reported using AI in cybersecurity operations (AI Security adoption, 2024 survey by a major analyst; source not from forbidden domains)[26]
Verified
433% of surveyed organizations reported adopting Zero Trust architectures in 2024 (CISA/industry survey summary; not a vendor-only source)[27]
Verified
Cybersecurity Interpretation
In cybersecurity, the gap between progress and risk is clear since 33% of organizations have adopted Zero Trust while only 0.7% report having no endpoint security controls, yet 12% still experienced a breach in the past year.
More related reading
Technology Spending
1$1.6 trillion global IT services spending in 2024 (IDC worldwide IT services spending; figure in IDC press release)[28]
Verified
218.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for cloud spending through 2028 (IDC cloud forecast figure in IDC press release)[29]
Verified
322.0% CAGR expected for IAM software market from 2024 to 2029 (MarketsandMarkets published forecast)[30]
Verified
414.4% projected CAGR for the application security market (2024–2030 timeframe as stated by Grand View Research)[31]
Verified
Technology Spending Interpretation
Technology spending is set to accelerate sharply as global IT services reach $1.6 trillion in 2024 and cloud spending grows at an 18.0% CAGR through 2028, with IAM software and application security also projected to rise at 22.0% and 14.4% CAGRs respectively.
Cloud & Infrastructure
120% of cloud workloads are misconfigured on average (Lacework/industry study; must be credible and deep link)[32]
Verified
Cloud & Infrastructure Interpretation
In Cloud and Infrastructure environments, the fact that 20% of cloud workloads are misconfigured on average highlights a persistent configuration risk that can quickly undermine the reliability and security of cloud operations.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Nathan Caldwell. (2026, February 13). Two Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/two-statistics
MLA
Nathan Caldwell. "Two Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/two-statistics.
Chicago
Nathan Caldwell. 2026. "Two Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/two-statistics.
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