Project Management Statistics You Need to Know 2024

Project management is important for ensuring projects stay organized and meet their goals. But how can we determine which strategies work? By analyzing the latest statistics, we can pinpoint the methods that lead to successful outcomes and understand why certain practices are necessary. This article dives into the data that will help you make decisions.

General Project Management Statistics

Does project management result in success?

• Projects that implement project management best practices are 2.5 times more successful.
  Source: Pulse Management

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.
  Source: Axelos

What percentage of Agile projects are successful?

• Agile projects have a 64% success rate.
  Source: Agile Connection
• Agile projects are 28% more successful than non-Agile projects.
  Source: Unosquare

What percentage of waterfall projects are successful?

• Waterfall projects have a 49% success rate.
  Source: Zippia

What is the most popular Agile delivery framework?

• Scrum is the most widely used and popular Agile framework.
  Source: Digita.ai

How popular is Hybrid project management?

• 60% of project managers use the Hybrid project delivery approach.
  Source: Servicenow

Does every project have a project sponsor?

• Fewer than 2 in 3 projects have engaged project sponsors.
  Source: APM

How big are most project teams?

• Most project teams (39%) are made up of 6-10 people.
  Source Rebel's Guide to Project Management

Project Management Industry Stats

What are the best industries for project managers?

• Manufacturing and Construction (with an increase of 9.7 million jobs expected)
• Information Services and Publishing (with an increase of 5.5 million jobs expected)
• Finance and Insurance (with an increase of 4.6 million jobs expected)
• Management and Professional Services (with an increase of 1.7 million jobs expected)
• Utilities (with an increase of 279,000 jobs expected.)
  Source: SMU

Is project management a growing industry?

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

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.
  Source: Project Management Institute

How many companies provide project management training?

• 61% of organizations provide some form of project management training.
  Source: Project Management Institute

What percentage of risk and compliance teams have increased in size recently?

• 62% of risk and compliance teams have increased in size due to in-sourcing efforts.
  Source: Thomson Reuters

PMO (Project Management Office) Stats

How many companies have a PMO?

• 82% of organizations had at least one Project Management Office (PMO) in 2021.
• 47% of these organizations used multiple PMOs.
• PMO adoption has increased by 11% since 2016.
• Additionally, more than a quarter of these PMOs were established within the last two years.
  Source: Wellingtone

What does a PMO do day to day?

A PMO's daily activities include:

• Project oversight: Enforcing standards, monitoring progress, and managing risks.
• Resource management: Allocating and optimizing resources across projects.
• Support: Providing tools, templates, and training to project teams.
• Stakeholder communication: Facilitating updates and reporting project status.
• Strategic alignment: Prioritizing projects and ensuring they meet business goals.
• Workflow management: Standardizing processes and implementing tools.
• Performance tracking: Monitoring KPIs and conducting project audits.

These tasks help ensure efficient project execution and alignment with organizational objectives.

Source: Saviom

Project Manager Stats

How many people work in project management?

• There are currently 90 million project management-oriented employees in project-led industries globally.
  Source: Project Management Institute

How many project managers are there in the world?

• There are an estimated 16.5 million project managers in the world.
  Source: GoRemotely

How many project managers are there in the US?

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

How many project management professionals are there in the UK?

• There are approximately 2.32 million full-time equivalents (FTEs) employed in the project management profession in the UK.
  Source: APM

How many projects do project managers run?

• 59% of project managers handle between 2 to 5 projects simultaneously.
• 11% of project managers manage 6 to 10 projects.
• 15% of project managers oversee more than 10 projects.
• The remaining 15% are responsible for managing just a single project.
  Source: Rebel's Guide to Project Management

PMP (Project Management Professional) Certification Stats

How many project managers are PMP-certified?

• There are more than 1.2 million PMP certification holders worldwide.
  Source: Project Management Institute

What is the PMP pass rate?

• The PMP pass rate is less than 70%.
  Source:Knowledge Hut

What is the PMP passing score?

• The PMP exam does not have a fixed passing score. While the passing score was 61% in 2005, PMI now uses psychometric analysis, meaning the required percentage to pass can vary based on the difficulty of the questions. PMI no longer publishes a specific passing percentage.
  Source: Knowledge Hut

How much does PMP certification cost?

• The PMP exam fee is $405 for PMI (Project Management Institute) members and $665 for non-members.
  Source: Project Management Institute

How much more do PMP holders earn?

• PMP-certified professionals earn significantly more than their non-certified peers. According to the PMI Earning Power: Project Management Survey (2023), PMP holders earn an average of 33% more across 21 countries. Additionally, 61% of PMP-certified individuals reported a salary increase of at least 5% over the past year, demonstrating the ongoing financial benefits of obtaining the certification.
  Source: Project Management Institute

Project Performance Stats

How many projects fail?

• Studies indicate that around 70% of all projects fail to meet their objectives, such as delivering on time, staying within budget, or fulfilling their original scope.
  Source:PM360consulting

What are the biggest causes of project failure?

• Changes in Organizational Priorities: Frequent shifts in priorities can derail a project, leading to confusion and misalignment among team members.
• Changes in Project Goals: Altering the project's goals after work has begun can result in scope creep, increased costs, and missed deadlines.
• Inaccurate Collection of Requirements: Failing to gather accurate and complete requirements at the start can lead to unmet expectations, costly changes, and ultimately, project failure.
  Source:Project Management Institute

How many projects go over budget?

• Approximately 50% of projects are completed over budget, making it a significant challenge in project management.
  Source: Project Management Institute

What is the average project cost overrun?

• The average project cost overrun is 27%.
  Source: Harvard Business Review

How much money is wasted on projects?

• Approximately $1 million is wasted every 20 seconds collectively by organizations around the world due to the ineffective implementation of business strategy through poor project management practices.
  Source: Businesswire

How many projects are completed late?

• Approximately 50% of projects are completed late, highlighting common challenges in meeting deadlines due to factors like scope creep and resource issues.
  Source: Wrike

How many companies complete projects on time?

• Only 34% complete projects mostly or always on time.
  Source: Wellingtone

How do organizations prioritize projects?

• Organizations prioritize their strategic initiatives based on several key factors:
• 18% prioritize alignment with their overall mission and direction, 14% focus on the expected benefits, and another 14% consider the potential return on investment (ROI). These factors help organizations determine which initiatives will have the most significant impact on their strategic goals.
  Source: Harvard Business School Online

Project Communication Stats

How do internal teams communicate with each other?

• 31% of people communicate with their colleagues primarily by email, 26% use an online chat tool such as Slack, 24% use a project management tool, 7% primarily communicate by phone, and the remaining 10% use a variety of tools including Notion, WhatsApp, Google Meet, and Zoom.
  Source: Project.co

How do businesses communicate with clients?

• 55% of people communicate with their clients using email, 19% use a project management tool, 11% of people communicate with their clients using online chat tools, and the rest use phone calls and face-to-face communication.
  Source: Project.co

Does project management software improve communication?

• Yes, the usage of project management software has helped to improve team communication, with 77% of users reporting better internal communication.
  Source: Project.co

Project Management Software Stats

How many organizations use project management software?

• 25% of organizations currently use project management software or tools.
  Source: Wellingtone
• 77% of high-performing projects use project management software.
  Source: Pwc

How big is the project management software industry?

• The global project management software industry was valued at approximately $6.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.68% from 2022 to 2030.
  Source: Zion Market Research

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.
  Source: Report Linker

How much time does project management software save?

• On average, project management software helps employees save 498 hours per year.
  Source: ProofHub

Project management is important for driving successful outcomes, yet challenges like budget overruns and missed deadlines remain common. This highlights the ongoing need for skilled project managers and effective tools to enhance project efficiency.