Global Connector Market Posts 14.7% Growth in 2025, Led by Asia Pacific Surge

By Lynda Nolen | March 24, 2026

New research from Bishop & Associates tracks more than $12.7 billion in market expansion, with huge growth in Asia. Learn what markets topped the charts.

The worldwide electronic connector market expanded by more than $12.7 billion in 2025, delivering a 14.7% increase over 2024 sales, one of the industry’s stronger performances in recent years. All six major global regions recorded positive growth, though the spread between top and bottom performers was striking, with Asia Pacific climbing 32.6%, followed by China, where sales grew 17.3%, while the Rest of World region inched ahead just 0.7%.

The 2026 edition of the World Connector Market Handbook, a 232-page report published by Bishop & Associates, details the connector industry’s performance in 2025. This edition covers historical data from 2016 through 2025, makes a 2026 forecast, and projects growth to 2031 with five-year compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for six regions. In tables and graphs, key statistics are provided for total world sales as well as individual regions. The report includes a deeper examination of multiple end-use equipment market sectors and a range of product categories.

World Connector Market by Region 2024 to 2025 with Percent Change

 

Asia Pacific leads; Japan and ROW lag

Asia Pacific’s 32.6% jump was the region’s strongest showing since 2010, when it posted 38.3% growth. China, the second-fastest growing region, added 17.3%. Together, these two regions account for the bulk of the overall market’s momentum.

At the other end of the spectrum, Japan grew just 2.9%. The report attributes the country’s persistently subdued results in part to the weak yen relative to the U.S. dollar. Japan’s multi-year underperformance has weighed on its CAGR, which remain in negative territory despite a marginal improvement this year. China’s 2025 growth was robust but the country’s historical CAGR has been declining as its pace of expansion moderates from the rapid rates of earlier years and as other regions catch up or accelerate past it.

Telecom/Datacom remains the dominant end-use sector

Among the equipment sectors that drive connector demand, telecom and datacom held the top position in 2025, corresponding with huge growth in data centers and the build-out of infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence. The automotive sector ranked second. At the other end of the scale, the medical equipment sector recorded the smallest growth among tracked sectors, rising 5.9% year over year.

World Connector Market by Equipment Sector

The report also examines connector sales by product type, focusing on the 10 most-commonly specified connector categories, led by PCB, rectangular I/O, and application-specific connectors.

 

Click here for further details and ordering information for the World Connector Market Handbook research report.

This content is available to subscribers of Connector Supplier through a special partnership with Bishop & Associates. No part of this article may be used without the permission of Bishop & Associates Inc. The Bishop Report publishes monthly updates about the performance of the connector industry and key industry topics. Subscribe to the Bishop Report here. Contact us at [email protected] or 630.443.2702.

Incorporated in 1985, Bishop & Associates, Inc. is a market research firm specializing in the connector and cable assembly industry. The firm publishes the monthly Bishop Report, a newsletter focusing on the connector industry, Industry News Briefs and Updates, The Connector Yearbook, as well as a variety of research reports covering the connector and cable assembly market, its products, and its manufacturers. The Bishop Report publishes monthly updates about the performance of the connector industry and key industry topics. Subscribe to the Bishop Report here. Contact us at [email protected] or 630.443.2702. 

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Lynda Nolen
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