As the flexible workspace industry continues to expand its reach in the global real estate market, Coworker similarly witnessed massive growth in terms of supply this year.

Coworker ended 2019 with 13,384 total coworking spaces across 172 countries, signifying our largest growth year to date. This represents an increase of 3,825 new spaces (+40%), up from 9,559 in December 2018. 

We now believe Coworker has listings for approximately 90% of all independent (and small chain operators of) coworking spaces in the world. (Note: Coworker’s database does not include the majority of IWG locations, which would bring the total number to approximately 18,000 spaces.) 

Additional data we’ve collected throughout the year has generated the following insights.

Coworking Supply Growth — Top Continents 

Due to the rapid expansion in supply that Coworker witnessed this year, our database includes coworking spaces on every continent in 172 countries around the world. 

Broken down by continent, here is the ranking of the top continents with the most new spaces listed on Coworker in 2019:

  • Europe – +3,820 spaces
  • Asia – +3,757 spaces
  • North America – +3,004 spaces
  • South America – +852 spaces
  • Oceania – +980 spaces
  • Africa – +828 spaces
  • Central America – +101 spaces

Coworking Supply Growth — Top Countries 

In 2019, approximately 70 new coworking spaces were added to Coworker’s database each week. This rapid weekly growth accounted for 13,384 total coworking spaces at year’s end (+40% from 2018).

Of these new spaces added to Coworker in 2019, the top three countries that added the largest amount of new spaces (thereby signalling the fastest-growing countries for coworking) include: 

#1 India

  • Total at the end of 2018: 676
  • Total now: 1277
  • Annual change: +88%

#2 UK

  • Total at the end of 2018: 432
  • Total now: 631
  • Annual change: +48%

#3 USA

  • Total at the end of 2018: 1,516
  • Total now: 2,304
  • Annual change: +52%

Coworking Supply Growth — Top Cities

Also in 2019, the total number of cities with listings on Coworker reached 2,451. Of this rapid city growth, an average of 10 new cities were added to Coworker’s database each week. 

Compared to this time last year, this accounted for a 28% annual growth in terms of new cities listed on Coworker. We witnessed hundreds of cities in 2019 open their first coworking space and saw the market for coworking take shape in Venezuela, Iran, Central Africa, and in the tropical paradise of Koh Chang in Thailand.

Of these new spaces added to Coworker in 2019, the cities with the most amount of individual coworking listings include:

    • NYC – 250 spaces
    • London – 248 spaces
    • Bengaluru – 230 spaces
    • Hong Kong – 156 spaces

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2019 in Review

It was an exciting 2019 for our team at Coworker as we experienced a year of massive growth, underscoring predictions by CBRE that flexible workspace will grow from 1% of office space to 10% in just a few years. 

With a +40% growth since this time last year in terms of supply, Coworker is gearing up for another year of rapid expansion. Looking to 2020, the coworking industry will see a range of new trends take root, including hybrid coworking models and the rise of multi-space coworking memberships, like Coworker’s Global Pass launching in January.

To further explore the rapid expansion of coworking spaces, check out this episode of the Coworking Insights podcast.