Key Semiconductor Industry Statistics: All You Need to Know in 2023

Technology is currently evolving at incredible speeds. No one would argue with that.

But do you know how it is happening exactly?

For instance, have you an idea what’s the thing absolutely all our devices, those we so conveniently use in practically all everyday activities, have in common? The answer is semiconductors—a substance with the most important qualities and the focus of our article.

From the device you’re reading this text on to the type of transport you use to get to work, and everything in-between, semiconductors are the connection that helps all these machines to function.

Stay with us as we go through the most essential semiconductor industry statistics and reveal all the key info you need to know about it!

Riveting Facts About the Size of the Semiconductor Industry (Editor’s Choice):

• Global semiconductor sales rose by 23% in just a year—from 2021 to 2022.
• In 2021, the global industry had a $552.9 billion revenue. It’s estimated that it’ll reach $600 billion in 2022.
• Estimates also claim that the market will grow at a CAGR of 9.2% until 2029.
• In 2020, global semiconductor sales reached more than $466 billion.
• The top semiconductor company is Samsung.
• US President Joe Biden dedicated $50 billion to manufacture and research semiconductors in 2021.

Semiconductor Facts

Before we dive further into specifics, let’s cover the basics.

Get ready for some essential facts about the industry.

1. There are four main types of semiconductor chips.

(Source: Investopedia)

Semiconductors are substances whose conductivity of electricity can be easily manipulated through various means. The four main types are standard chips, memory chips, microprocessors, and systems-on-a-chip (SoCs). All are used for RAM and ROM modules, CPUs, GPUs, ASICs, cars, factories, computers, telephones, etc., etc. The list is so long that there’s no way we’d be able to cover all of it. Now you see why semiconductors are so important, right?

2. In 2021, US President Joe Biden earmarked $50 billion for semiconductors.

(Source: CNBC)

At the very end of March 2021, Biden revealed his $2 trillion infrastructure plan with the goal of recovering the US economy from the pandemic’s consequences. $50 billion of these were explicitly reserved for the manufacture and research of semiconductors. You know it’s real when even the president takes the US semiconductor industry so seriously.

3. In 2020, global semiconductor sales went over $466 billion.

(Source: Statista)

The pandemic’s misfortunes and catastrophes list is pretty long. One of the items on it is the global chip shortage. Quite an unfortunate timing as well, since it happened just when the demands were larger than ever.

Nevertheless, 2020 still managed to be another solid year for semiconductors—their sales exceeded $466 billion then. Even though it’s much less than 2021, the results are considered pretty good, given the circumstances.

Global Semiconductor Market

The semiconductor manufacturers are numerous.

However, just a few of them dominate the global market.

So do you want to know which the top semiconductor companies are right now?

4. Samsung is the biggest semiconductor company in the world.

(Source: IT Brief)

The Intel vs. Samsung fight was the industry’s highlight of 2021. Intel is still leading from an annual perspective, with semiconductor industry statistics revealing some juicy info—Intel’s share was 13%, while Samsung’s was at 12.8% of the entire global revenue.

However, Samsung’s numbers were more significant during the final two quarters of the last year. The company also led the DRAM and HAND markets. Should Intel be scared?

5. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the most prominent semiconductor manufacturer.

(Source: Visual Capitalist)

The company is even bigger than Samsung in terms of electronic chip manufacturing. Its semiconductor market share is at an impressive 54%! Even though Samsung’s the biggest company overall, its semiconductor market share is only 17%.

6. Nearly all top semiconductor manufacturers are from Taiwan and China.

(Source: Visual Capitalist)

You already know the two most noteworthy ones—Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung. So what are the other eight in the top 10 list? TSMC and Samsung are followed by Taiwan’s UMC, America’s GlobalFoundries, and China’s SMIC.

The next five have a market share of only 1%—HH Grace, PSMC, VIS, DB HiTek, and Tower Semiconductor. As you could have easily guessed, most of these are also Chinese or Taiwanese.

2022 Semiconductor Industry Statistics

Semiconductors have finally recovered from a significant fall in 2020.

Just two years later, the industry is thriving, as 2022 seems to be a particularly successful year for them.

Let’s see by how much!

7. Global semiconductor sales rose by 23% from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022.

(Source: Semiconductor Industry Association)

During Q1 2022, $151.7 billion worth of semiconductors were sold worldwide. The SIA announced the news towards the end of April 2022.

Q4 2021 sales were even more considerable than those, though by only 0.5%. Additionally, global March 2022 sales revealed a 1.1% month-to-month semiconductor industry growth rate.

Fun fact: Sales for March 2022 alone were $50.6 billion!

8. Numerous sources predict the industry’s revenue reaching $600 billion in 2022.

(Source: Deloitte)

For example, Deloitte estimates a growth of 10% in 2022 to reach a revenue of at least $600 billion. After all, how could it not? Knowing how influential they are, this sounds like a completely reasonable turn of events.

Market Growth Amid Global Chip Shortage

Despite the severe chip shortage that started in the first half of 2020, semiconductors are doing amazing.

The demand heavily outweighs the deficits, so the business is booming.

9. The 2021 global semiconductor industry revenue was $552.9 billion.

(Source: Statista)

2022 started swimmingly for the industry. Global sales ought to beat those of 2021, when the revenue was $552.9 billion! There may have been a chip shortage, but it seems that only drove the demand way up. What are your predictions for the 2022 figure?

10. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.2% every year until 2029.

(Source: Fortune Business Insights)

The future of the semiconductor industry is apparently looking bright. This market could very well be worth $893.1 billion by the end of 2029. Fortune Business Insights believes the pandemic-related demand, development of the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and machine learning could have played major roles here.

Wrap Up

That’s all for today, folks!

Our collection of noteworthy semiconductor industry statistics is further proof of their ever-growing influence and demand.

Just be careful of the ongoing shortage—the market is still growing, but there’s no way to know what would be the next cataclysmic event to come.

Fingers crossed, we’ve had enough of those in our lifetimes!