Mumbai ranks among the world’s Top 15 Data Centre Markets; Hyderabad emerges as a global high-growth contender: Knight Frank Global Data Centre Atlas 2026
Mumbai, August 06, 2026: India’s Data Centre market continues to strengthen its global standing, with Mumbai ranking 15th globally by operational Data Centre capacity and 11th globally by development pipeline, according to the latest Knight Frank Global Data Centre Atlas 2026. Meanwhile, Hyderabad has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing Data Centre markets, ranking 27th globally in live operational capacity while climbing to 19th globally by future development pipeline, underlining its rapidly expanding role in India’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
The Report compares 36 leading global Data Centre Markets across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
The report evaluates markets using two key indicators:
• Live IT Capacity – the amount of operational IT power (measured in megawatts or MW) currently installed across live data centres. It reflects the size and maturity of an operational market and its ability to support enterprise, cloud and AI workloads today.
• Pipeline IT Capacity – the volume of capacity under construction, committed and in early stages of development. This serves as an indicator of the future growth trajectory of a market and the level of investment expected over the coming years.
With 774 MW of live IT capacity and nearly 5 GW of pipeline capacity, Mumbai has firmly established itself as India’s gateway Data Centre Market and one of Asia-Pacific’s leading digital infrastructure hubs. Hyderabad, while operating from a smaller installed base of 151 MW, is backed by a development pipeline exceeding 2.2 GW, highlighting strong investor confidence and significant long-term growth potential.
Beyond Mumbai and Hyderabad, India’s data centre map is becoming increasingly diversified, reflecting a trend of regional specialization. Chennai has strengthened its position as a strategic gateway for Southeast Asian internet traffic, bolstered by competitive power tariffs and a supportive policy environment. Meanwhile, Bengaluru continues to benefit from demand generated by Global Capability Centres (GCCs), research and development facilities, and enterprise colocation requirements. Emerging hubs such as Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR) are also expanding capacity, driven by demand for cost-efficient alternatives and strong adoption from banking, financial services, and public cloud sectors. Furthermore, Tier-II cities like Visakhapatnam and Jamnagar are rapidly emerging as active greenfield data centre markets, attracting gigawatt-scale development proposals backed by government support and planned subsea cable connectivity.
Globally, the largest operational Data Centre Markets continue to be led by mature North American hubs such as Ashburn, Columbus, Dallas, Phoenix and Atlanta, followed by established Asia-Pacific and European markets including Tokyo, London, Dublin, Singapore and Johor. India’s emergence among these markets reflects the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy, increasing cloud adoption, AI deployment and sustained hyperscale investment.
India’s competitive strengths
India’s gateway data centre markets possess several structural advantages that continue to attract global investment. Mumbai serves as the country’s principal international connectivity gateway through multiple subsea cable landings, providing low-latency access to global networks while also offering proximity to India’s largest financial services ecosystem and a deep enterprise customer base. Hyderabad has established itself as a preferred destination for hyperscale cloud providers owing to its availability of large development parcels, proactive policy support, growing technology ecosystem and competitive operating costs.
Data Centre markets based on Live IT
Rank Region Country City Live IT
1 North America USA Ashburn 5636
2 North America USA Columbus 1958
3 North America USA Dallas 1936
4 North America USA Phoenix 1865
5 North America USA Atlanta 1724
6 APAC Japan Tokyo 1473
7 Europe UK London 1467
8 Europe Ireland Dublin 1254
9 North America USA Chicago 1123
10 APAC Singapore Singapore 1118
11 APAC Malaysia Johor 1110
12 Europe Germany Frankfurt 980
13 Europe Netherlands Amsterdam 829
14 North America USA Silicon Valley 825
15 APAC India Mumbai 774
27 APAC India Hyderabad 151
Source: Knight Frank Data Centre Atlas
At the same time, the report suggests that India remains at an earlier stage of development compared with the world’s largest data centre markets. While demand fundamentals remain exceptionally strong, the next phase of growth will increasingly depend on timely power availability, transmission infrastructure, faster approvals, expansion of fibre connectivity, sustainable energy sourcing and the creation of larger campus-scale developments capable of supporting AI workloads.
Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said, “India’s presence in the global rankings demonstrates how rapidly the country has evolved into a strategic digital infrastructure destination. Mumbai’s position among the world’s leading operational markets reflects years of investment in connectivity, enterprise demand and cloud infrastructure, while Hyderabad’s strong pipeline highlights the confidence global operators have in India’s long-term growth story. However, if India is to move into the league of the world’s top ten Data Centre Markets, the focus must now shift from demand creation to enabling infrastructure. Faster power provisioning, expansion of renewable energy capacity, accelerated transmission upgrades, streamlined approvals and the availability of large development-ready sites will be critical to supporting the next generation of AI-led and hyperscale investments.
India enjoys several enduring advantages. Its gateway markets offer proximity to one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, a vast domestic consumption base, improving international connectivity through subsea cable networks, competitive operating costs and strong government support for digital infrastructure. As these strengths are complemented by continued investment in power and infrastructure, India is well positioned to become one of the world’s most important data centre destinations over the coming decade.”
Data Centre markets based on Pipeline IT
Rank Region Country City Pipeline IT
1 North America USA Atlanta 27028
2 North America USA Ashburn 15981
3 North America USA Chicago 9074
4 North America USA Dallas 8901
5 APAC Malaysia Johor 8542
6 APAC Australia Melbourne 7802
7 Europe Finland Finland 7498
8 North America USA Phoenix 7024
9 North America USA Columbus 6550
10 Europe UK London 5694
11 APAC India Mumbai 4993
12 APAC Thailand Bangkok 4981
13 APAC Indonesia Jakarta 3739
14 APAC Japan Tokyo 3368
15 Europe France Paris 2837
16 Europe Italy Milan 2833
17 Europe Germany Frankfurt 2572
18 Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia Riyadh 2348
19 APAC India Hyderabad 2265
20 Middle East and Africa UAE UAE 1958
Joseph Thilak, Executive Director- Occupier Strategy & Solutions, Head of Data Centre Business (India), Knight Frank India, said, “India’s data centre market is entering a more mature phase, supported by sustained cloud adoption, AI-led computing demand and the rapid digitalisation of enterprises. Occupiers today are prioritising scalable, resilient and energy-efficient infrastructure, prompting operators to expand capacity in established markets while evaluating emerging locations. As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly integral to business operations, India’s favourable demand fundamentals, improving connectivity and supportive policy environment are expected to strengthen its position as a long-term data centre hub in Asia.”
India’s data centre journey is entering a new phase—one defined not just by rapid growth, but by global competitiveness. As cloud adoption, artificial intelligence and digital transformation continue to reshape industries, the country’s gateway markets have an opportunity to evolve into globally significant digital infrastructure hubs. Continued investment in enabling infrastructure, sustainable energy and regulatory efficiency will be key to unlocking this potential and positioning India among the world’s leading data centre destinations in the years ahead.
