54.2 billion dollars in 2024—up from 45.5 billion dollars in 2019—with a projection of 88.71 billion dollars by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5%. These are the staggering figures for the global video surveillance market, published in January 2025 by Markets and Markets, a platform specializing in compiling data on high-growth markets.

How to explain this explosive growth in the video surveillance market? “The rise of smart city initiatives, combined with growing security concerns, is driving the market,” notes the platform upfront.

AI boosts the market

This market—which includes surveillance of public spaces, transportation, industrial facilities, businesses, and private properties—has also been bolstered in recent years by the use of AI, critical for facial recognition applications, and cloud solutions, “which offer advanced analytics and remote access,” the same source notes.

The rapid development of AI is transforming the global video surveillance market by enhancing both image analysis and decision-making capabilities through facial recognition, object detection, and anomaly identification.

Markets and Markets highlights other “emerging trends,” such as “the growing integration of AI with edge computing for real-time analysis, and the design of advanced algorithms for greater accuracy.”

These technologies are expected to evolve further, paving the way for applications like predictive analytics and highly sophisticated threat detection. “Technological advancements are driving market growth by creating smarter, automated surveillance solutions,” they conclude.

In this race for AI-based video surveillance, all continents are in the starting blocks, including Africa, where the market is expected to experience strong expansion over the next five years.

According to a report by market intelligence consultancy Next Move Strategy Consulting (NMSC), published in December 2024, the AI video surveillance market in Africa was valued at 160,42 million dollars in 2023 and is projected to reach 772,33 million dollars by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23,27% between 2024 and 2030—nearly three times the global growth rate.

The Chinese model

While Africa is carving a path in the video surveillance market, it remains far behind usage levels seen in Asia, where some megacities are saturated with surveillance cameras—also known as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. This is particularly true in India and especially China, the undisputed champion of video surveillance.

The People’s Republic has, at minimum, over 626 million CCTV cameras according to economic data platform IHS Markit—equating to 437 cameras per 1,000 people, or nearly one camera for every two individuals. In Shanghai and Beijing, China’s most populous and heavily surveilled cities, there are over 12.8 million and 9.5 million surveillance cameras, respectively.

Beyond the 39 Chinese cities dominating Comparitech’s 2023 ranking of the world’s 150 most surveilled cities, Hyderabad (India), Delhi (India), Moscow (Russia), Indore (India), Seoul (South Korea), London (United Kingdom), Baghdad (Iraq), Singapore, Istanbul (Turkey), and Chennai (India) round out the list, with between 900,000 and 91,000 devices of this type.

Casablanca ranks 117th, with 3,800 CCTV cameras for 3.89 million residents (based on pre-2024 census figures)—just under one camera per 1,000 inhabitants.

Morocco in the Race

Surveillance cameras, particularly those integrating artificial intelligence and facial recognition, are present in Morocco’s market and used by several companies—including banks—explains a security camera system importer who requested anonymity in an interview with TelQuel.

“We’re seeing growing enthusiasm among businesses and individuals for acquiring modern surveillance systems, ranging from entry-level models to cameras with advanced technologies,” he adds. In this race for cutting-edge surveillance equipment, international vendors—primarily Chinese firms—are competing for market share.

In Morocco, these vendors—which lack local branches—cannot bid directly on public contracts and instead partner with Moroccan integrators through consortiums. These integrators—including Sphinx Electric, Sprinx Solutions, Al Omra Group, Netcom, AB Protection, and Cires Technologies (which recently won Casablanca’s surveillance contract)—source their products from importers who also act as wholesalers in the video surveillance market.

The sector’s total revenue in Morocco remains difficult to estimate, “as players are fragmented and the lack of a federation prevents the collection and analysis of data needed to form a comprehensive view of the industry,” our source notes.

Written in French by Anaïs Lefébure, edited in English by Eric Nielson