Project Management Statistics: Everything You Need to Know (2023)

Last updated on 18th September 2023

Article Contents

General project management stats

Does project management result in success?

Projects that implement project management best practices are 2.5 times more successful.

Is project portfolio management important?

Yes, project portfolio management is extremely important – so much so that 4 out of 5 project managers say they rely on PPM to get by.

What percentage of Agile projects are successful?

Agile projects have a 64% success rate and are 28% more successful than non-Agile projects.

What percentage of waterfall projects are successful?

Waterfall projects have a 49% success rate.

What is the most popular Agile delivery framework?

Scrum is the most widely used and popular Agile framework.

How popular is Hybrid project management?

60% of project managers use the Hybrid project delivery approach.

Does every project have a project sponsor?

Fewer than 2 in 3 projects have engaged project sponsors.

How big are most project teams?

Most project teams (39%) are made up of 6-10 people.

Project team size chart
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Project management industry stats

What are the best industries for project managers?

Project management job growth is expected to increase the most in the following sectors:

  • Management and professional services
  • Manufacturing
  • Finance and insurance
  • Information services and publishing
  • Construction
  • Utilities
  • Oil and gas

Is project management a growing industry?

Yes, the project management workforce is expected to grow by 33% across 11 countries by 2027.

Is project management in high demand?

Yes, project management is in extremely high demand. There is a need for 25 million new project management professionals globally by 2030, due to an increasing number of jobs needing project management-related skills, according to the Project Management Institute.

How many companies provide project management training?

61% of organisations provide some form of project management training.

How many companies use risk management?

64% of organisations conduct risk management.

PMO (project management office) stats

How many companies have a PMO?

89% of organisations have at least one project management office (PMO)

What does a PMO do day to day?

The top 5 activities carried out by a PMO are:

  • Project status reporting
  • Maintaining portfolio lists
  • Maintaining the project management methodology
  • Facilitating project approval processes
  • Providing project management expertise
PMO activities stat
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Project manager stats

How many people work in project management?

There are currently 90 million project management-oriented employees in project-led industries globally.

How many project managers are there in the world?

There are an estimated 16.5 million project managers in the world.

How many project managers are there in the US?

There are an estimated 426,229 project managers currently employed in the United States.

How many project management professionals are there in the UK?

There are approximately 2.13 million project management professionals employed in the UK on a full time basis.

How many projects do project managers run?

59% of project managers run 2-5 projects. 11% run 6-10 projects, 15% run more than 10 projects and 15% run a single project.

Project manager chart
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PMP (Project Management Professional) certification stats

How many project managers are PMP certified?

There are more than 1.2 million PMP certification holders worldwide, according to the Project Management Institute. 

What is the PMP pass rate?

The PMP pass rate is less than 70%.

What is the PMP passing score?

The PMI (Project Management Institute) does not disclose the score required to pass the PMP exam. Organisations have tried to make estimates but only the PMI knows the true figure.

How much does pmp certification cost?

The PMP exam fee is $405 for PMI (Project Management Institute) members and $555 for non-members.

How much more do pmp holders earn?

The median salary for PMP holders is 16% higher globally than those without certification.

Project performance stats

How many projects fail?

65% of all projects fail.

What are the biggest causes of project failure?

Three of the biggest reasons for project failure are: changes in organisational priorities, changes in project goals and the inaccurate collection of requirements.

How many projects go over budget?

50% of projects are completed over budget.

What is the average project cost overrun?

Average project cost overrun is 27% according to Harvard Business Review (HBR) research.

How much money is wasted on projects?

Collectively, $1 million is wasted every 20 seconds by organisations due to poor project management practice, which equates to around $2 trillion a year.

How many projects are late?

74% of projects are delivered late.

How many companies complete projects on time?

29% of organisations mostly or always complete projects on time.

How do organisations prioritise projects?

18% of companies prioritise strategic alignment, 14% say expected benefits and 14% say ROI.

Project communication stats

How do internal teams communicate with each other?

75% of people who collaborate with other people in a team use email. 68% use phone conferencing, 59% use online collaborative tools such as Google Docs and Sheets, and 38% use a project management tool.

How do businesses communicate with clients?

67% of people mainly communicate with clients using email, 9% use project management software, 8% use phone calls, 8% use online meetings and 5% primarily use face to face meetings.

Does project management software improve communication?

Yes, usage of project management software has helped to improve team communication by 52%.

Project management software stats

How many organisations use project management software?

25% of organisations currently use project management software or tools. Furthermore, 77% of high-performing projects use project management software.

How big is the project management software industry?

The global project management software industry is valued at $6.1 billion (2021), and is expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 10.68% from 2022 to 2030.

What is the biggest market for project management software?

The United States is the biggest region for project management, with 29.6% of the market share.

How much time does project management software save?

On average, project management software helps employees save 498 hours per year.

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