India has emerged as the second-largest single-country contributor to global construction growth between 2020 and 2030, accounting for 14.1 per cent of total volume, according to a new report released on Tuesday, 9 June by Foundamental, a Berlin-based venture capital firm. The finding places India ahead of the United States at 11.1 per cent and behind only China at 26.1 per cent.

Key Findings From the Report

India and China together account for nearly 40 per cent of global construction growth over the decade, the report said. Global capital expenditure is becoming increasingly concentrated in five countries: India, China, the United States, Germany, and France.

Shubhankar Bhattacharya, Co-Founder and General Partner at Foundamental, said: 'India accounts for the second-largest share of global construction growth by volume between 2020 and 2030, at 14.1 per cent, behind only China at 26.1 per cent and ahead of the United States at 11.1 per cent.'

Global Construction Spending Trajectory

Global construction spending reached $15.97 trillion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $19.86 trillion by 2028, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 per cent. Infrastructure is the fastest-growing major segment globally, expanding at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent between 2020 and 2025.

The report also notes that global gross fixed capital formation has grown roughly 30-fold since 1960, with investment becoming increasingly concentrated among a handful of major economies. According to Bhattacharya, 'Global construction spending has already surpassed previous forecasts and is creating new opportunities across infrastructure, industrial facilities, energy systems, transportation networks and digital infrastructure.'

India's Infrastructure Growth Outpaces Global Rate

Within India, the pace of infrastructure expansion is markedly higher than the global average. The country's infrastructure market is forecast to grow at around 8 per cent annually through the end of the decade — well above the global rate of 5.1 per cent. The report attributes this to simultaneous tailwinds: infrastructure expansion, industrial development, the energy transition, digital transformation, and rapid urbanisation.

Data Centre Construction: A New Growth Frontier

The report forecasts that the global data centre construction market will double by 2030 compared with 2018 levels, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Bhattacharya noted that 'data centre construction could add between 10 per cent and 15 per cent to the global construction market by 2030,' making it one of the fastest-growing construction segments through the end of the decade.

India's positioning across multiple structural growth trends simultaneously — from digital infrastructure to energy transition — suggests the country's share of global construction activity could remain elevated well beyond 2030.