Methodology
Compare Market Research estimates the size, growth, segments, leading countries and competitors of every market it covers. Each market is built in the same analytical framework, so that markets can be compared with one another and so that every number can be traced back to a stated method.
Our approach
Every industry poses its own problems for market sizing, so no single technique fits all markets. Our framework combines quantitative and qualitative methods and chooses the one that suits the evidence available for each market. Three principles run through all of it.
- Published data is a starting point, not the answer. Figures released by companies, industry bodies and governments often cover a different scope from the market being measured, or use different definitions of revenue. We adjust them to our own definition before we use them.
- Where no data exists, we build the market. We size it from the top down, starting with the wider industry, and from the bottom up, starting with volumes and prices. Where a market can be sized more than one way, the routes are compared before a figure is set.
- Every number follows the same rules. All markets use the same base year, forecast horizon, units, ranking rule and checks, which is what makes a comparison between two markets meaningful.
Research process
- Define the market. The analyst sets out what is included and what is not, in terms of products, services or technologies, and the buyers who pay for them.
- Size the 2025 base. The analyst estimates volume sold and the price paid, then builds the 2025 revenue and cross-checks it against the size of the wider industry.
- Split the market. The 2025 base is divided by segment and by country, and companies are grouped by how they compete.
- Forecast to 2036. Volume and price are projected year by year from the drivers that matter in that market.
- Check and publish. Every table is checked against the others for consistency before the market is published.
Scope and definitions
Each market is a defined category of products, services or technologies. The market page states what is included. Values measure the revenue that suppliers earn from sales to buyers in that category, expressed in US dollars.
| Base year | 2025. The starting point of every model. |
|---|---|
| Estimate year | 2026. The current-year estimate. |
| Forecast period | 2027 to 2036, shown year by year. |
| CAGR | Compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2036: the value in 2036 divided by the value in 2026, raised to the power of one tenth, minus one. |
| Volume | Units sold, in the unit that suits the market: tonnes, kilograms, million units, subscribers or installations. |
| Average price | Revenue divided by volume, in US dollars per unit. |
| Country ranking | Twenty-five countries ranked by revenue earned from sales to buyers in that country (consumption), not by where goods are produced. |
Forecast method
The forecast starts from the 2025 base and moves forward one year at a time. Each year the analyst sets the growth rate from the main drivers of the market: demand from the industries that buy the product, adoption of new technology, changes in price, regulation and replacement cycles. Growth rates are allowed to change over the period, so a market can speed up or slow down. The 2026 to 2036 CAGR on each page is calculated from the resulting values. It is a summary of the path, not an input.
Volume and price are modelled together. Revenue in each year is volume multiplied by average price, so a market cannot grow in value without a stated change in volume, price or both.
Segments
Each market is split along the dimensions that matter most to buyers in that market, for example by type, by application or by end user. Segment shares are estimated for the base year and moved forward as the mix changes. Segment values add up to the market total in every year.
Countries
The 25 largest countries are shown for every market, together with the rest of the world. Countries are ranked by revenue earned from sales to buyers located in that country. A country that makes a great deal of a product but sells most of it abroad ranks by what its own buyers purchase. Country values add up to the market total in every year.
Companies
Companies are placed in three groups: global leaders, regional and specialist players, and emerging and niche players. The groups are an analyst classification of how companies compete in the market. They are not a ranking and they are not market shares.
Primary research
Desk analysis is combined with primary research. Our analysts interview key opinion leaders (KOLs), such as senior executives of suppliers, technical specialists, distributors and buyers, to test the assumptions behind the numbers: how large the market is, how quickly demand is changing, what buyers pay and who competes with whom. Interviews are used in customized reports and when a market is reviewed, so that the figures reflect what people in the industry are seeing. The interviews are one of the ways our estimates are tested and refined.
Quality control
Every market passes a set of consistency checks before it is published.
- Segment values add up to the market total in every year.
- Country values, including the rest of the world, add up to the market total in every year.
- The forecast compounds consistently from the 2025 base to 2036, and the stated CAGR matches the values.
- Units, labels and wording follow one standard across all markets.
The same checks run again whenever a market is changed.
Revisions
When evidence shows that an estimate is wrong, we correct the market page and the correction applies to every table on it. New markets are added regularly and follow the same framework.
Limits
Forecasts depend on assumptions about demand, prices, technology and regulation, and all of these can change. The figures are estimates with a margin of error. They are not audited statistics and they are not investment advice. Use them to compare markets and to frame a decision, and request a customized report where a decision depends on a specific figure.