Global revenues for private contract security services are forecast to increase 6.9 percent per year to $267 billion in 2018, driven by the continued growth of security service markets in a number of developing countries, notably Brazil, China, India, and Mexico.

Demand for security services will be buoyed by an improved economic environment and growing building construction activity, particularly in developed nations, with rising urbanization and higher personal incomes supporting demand in developing nations. The security service market will also be supported by concerns about crime, terrorism, and insufficient public safety measures. Contract guarding, the most widely used security service, accounted for more than half of global revenue in 2013 and is expected to achieve the fastest gains through 2018.  These and other trends are presented in World Security Services, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

The fastest gains will occur in developing parts of Asia, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Brazil, which was the world’s second largest national market behind the US in 2013, is projected to continue to see rapid gains through 2018, approaching 11 percent annually. China, India, Mexico, and South Africa are also expected to achieve double-digit annual growth through the forecast period, although from smaller bases.

“Advances in developing regions will be driven by rapid increases in economic activity, rising urbanization and personal incomes, and improving foreign investment activity,” notes analyst David Petina. “Further growth will stem from concerns that public safety forces are overburdened, corrupt, or unable to provide sufficient protection.” 

Demand in more developed markets will be supported by an improving economy, rebounding construction activity, and concerns about crime. Furthermore, whereas manned security dominates demand in developing areas, electronic security measures (e.g., alarm monitoring, systems integration, security consulting) are more widely used in the US, Canada, much of Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea. For instance, in Japan, alarm monitoring accounted for the largest share of domestic industry revenues, due to the technological sophistication of the population and the concentration of electronic security equipment producers.

Source: The Freedonia Group, Inc.

World Security Services(published 11/2014, 614 pages)is available for $6600 from The Freedonia Group, Inc. For further details or to arrange an interview with the analyst, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone 440.684.9600 or e-mail pr@freedoniagroup.com. Information may also be obtained through www.freedoniagroup.com.