Global State of Drones 2025

global state of drones report 2025

DESCRIPTION

Insights on the state of the global drone industry:

  • Global Participation: 768 responses from 87 countries, including the top drone markets and other corners of the globe!
  • Drone Companies Business Focus and Size: details on company business focus and company sizes ranging from 1-10 employees to over 10,000
  • Methods and Reasons to Adopt Drones: Direct feedback from companies about the top drone application methods and reasons to adopt drones into their workflow
  • Expectations vs Reality: Comparison of expectations vs reality for drone companies from 2018-2025
  • Top Challenges: Ranking of top challenges for the industry according to all global drone survey participants
  • Market Drivers: Outlook on what drone companies prioritize and which market drivers they consider most important

For more information, read our blog post with a summary of insights from the Global State of Drones White Paper.

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About the Global State of Drones White Paper

ABOUT
TABLE OF CONTENT
LIST OF FIGURES

The Global State of Drones Report 2025 is the annual free whitepaper measuring the state of the global industry. This white paper is based on the Global Drone Industry Survey, the most wide-reaching and inclusive global survey of the drone industry that provides insights about the drone industry coming directly from drone companies themselves.

Based on insights from 768 industry professionals across 87 countries. It delivers a detailed analysis of market demographics, key applications, challenges, and future expectations—all supported by exclusive data from the 8th annual Drone Industry Survey.

Inside the report, you’ll discover:

  • How the global drone market is evolving across service, hardware, and software segments.
  • What drives drone adoption today, including the shift toward time savings and operational efficiency.
  • Which challenges dominate 2025—from regulation and client acquisition to funding shortages.
  • How industry confidence is changing, with cautious optimism despite economic and regulatory headwinds.
  • Regional and sector-specific insights, helping you benchmark your company’s position against global peers.

Whether you’re a drone manufacturer, service provider, investor, or policymaker, this whitepaper provides actionable insights and strategic context to guide your next moves in a rapidly maturing industry.

Download the free Global State of Drones 2025 whitepaper to stay informed, anticipate industry shifts, and make data-driven decisions that keep you ahead of the competition.

GLOBAL STATE OF DRONES WHITE PAPER

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTORY FACTS OF THE GLOBAL STATE OF DRONES

DRONE OPERATION

EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS BREAKDOWN

RESOURCES

BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR THE DRONE INDUSTRY

DRIVING FACTORS IN A DYNAMIC MARKET

PARTNER DRONE EVENTS AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS

ABOUT DRONE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Most Represented Regions in Global State of Drones Report 2025

Figure 2: Most Represented Countries in Global State of Drones 2025

Figure 3: Survey Respondents by Market Segment

Figure 4: Company Size Respondents

Figure 5: Main Applied Methods

Figure 6: Reasons for Adopting Drones

Figure 7: Market Development in the Next 12 Months and Their Reflections on the Past 12 Months

Figure 8: Market Development in the Last/Next 12 Months by Market Segment

Figure 9: Survey Respondents’ Answers to What They Allocate Their Resources To

Figure 10: Resource Allocation Priorities by Drone Business

Figure 11: Biggest Challenge for the Industry 2023-2025

Figure 12: Survey Respondents’ Assessment of the Most Important Market-Driving Actors in the Drone Industry

INSIGHTS LOVED BY INDUSTRY LEADERS

“We found the report quite useful in terms of giving us revealing and trustworthy market figures for our analysis and we liked the overview of regulatory status by country a lot.“

Alexander Schlaepfer
Alexander Schläpfer Partner, Swisscom Ventures

Fantastic insights! This report provides a very broad understanding of the drone delivery market and also – for drone delivery experts like us – a high level of detail. Very impressive!”

Benjamin-Federmann (3)
Benjamin Federmann CEO & Founder, doks.innovation

“The Drone Delivery Report provides a great overview of the state of the drone delivery and it’s future potential. It’s helped us to understand the key players, technologies and markets for our business. Especially, the software stack section is really interesting! Not many people have defined it this clearly yet.”

Adam Klaptocz
Adam Klaptocz Co-Founder and CEO, RigiTech

“With their comprehensive industry knowledge, Drone Industry Insights helped us prioritize certain aspects of our strategic decision making. Their thorough understanding of the market is unique and we are happy to have them as a research partner.”

Matt Dunlevy
Matt Dunlevy CEO & Chairman at SkySkopes

“The Counter-Drone Report 2020 helped us gain a deep understanding of the market. We frequently use its expert insights for strategic decision-making. A great and compact report we can only recommend!“

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Peter Braun Telespazio VEGA

“The Drone Research Subscription allowed us to access DRONEII.com’s comprehensive knowledge base to refine our business strategy and support us during critical decision-making. The quality of information is unique and the the analyst support helped us to connect with strategically important players in the industry.“

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Christoph Schlettig CEO & Founder at UNISPHERE GmbH
“Drone Industry Insights has emerged as the leading reliable source of knowledge for the drone industry. We find their work very useful and are grateful for their work in helping this amazing industry grow and mature.”
bentzion levinson
Bentzion Levinson CEO & Co-Founder, Heven Drones

“Drone Industry Insights provides the most reliable intelligence on the drone industry!”

Andrew Scott - ThinkEquity
Andrew Scott Managing Director – Investment Banking ThinkEquity

“The Drone Market Report has served us well and given a thoroughly foundation for our strategical direction with regards to drones.”

Mats Mikalsen Kristensen Vice President – Unmanned Andøya Space

“We appreciate the transparency and good structuring of the DRONEII reports. Thanks to them, we save a lot of time which we used to spend for inquiry in the past and at the same time we gain much more extensive data than before.“

Malte-Laas
Malte Laas Managing Director, allDots

“We prepare a review of investment opportunities for ourselves and our clients, investors and major global players, both in terms of asset valuation and in terms of market valuation. Your report has helped us a lot in understanding investment trends and I will be glad to continue cooperation with pleasure.”

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Yulia Leonova Partner at Meridian Capital Management

“The investment report has made a world of difference in our approach to the drone market, venture capital and competitive landscape. It is really very comprehensive.”

colby-harvey
Colby Harvey CEO of Rizse

“The drone regulation report will definitely be a useful tool for us especially for the purposes of benchmarking and developing regulation guidelines.”

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Sharifah Khairiyah Syed Abdul Hamid Manager, Innovation Ecosystem, Futurise

“Great insight into the trends associated with drone applications as well as illuminating examples, this report provided us with a great benchmark of commercial drones applications.”

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Berry Mulder Robotics Centre of Excellence Leader, Shell

“DRONEII did a great job delivering an objective report and database, which is exactly what I needed.”

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Alex Xie DJI
See all testimonials

FAQ ABOUT Global State of Drones

What is the Global State of Drones Report?

The Global State of Drones is a free annual white paper that provides the results of our global drone industry survey. Among other things, it measures what companies do, where they are located, how they have performed in the past year, what they expect for the future, and much more. It is a unique opportunity for global drone industry experts to directly provide data that is eventually published in a report that is free for anyone to download.

Who participates in the Global Drone Industry Survey?

The Global Drone Industry Survey is completed by drone industry professionals all around the globe. Each and every year, the survey is released around Spring time and responses are collected for a period of around two months. In order to distribute it, Drone Industry Insights is supported by drone associations, drone-specialized media outlets and other event-organizing partners.

How can the Global State of Drones White Paper help my business?

Our unique global survey provides feedback directly from drone industry professionals about the drone industry itself. It is an opportunity to hear from experts about their experiences, expectations, reasons to use commercial drones, and dozens of other topics regarding their drone businesses. Anyone who is currently in the drone industry, or who hopes to enter it, can find unique and exclusive data about commercial drones through out yearly State of Drones White Paper (formerly the Drone Industry Barometer).

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