Public Lighting Market Size & Forecast [2033]

Public Lighting Market Overview

The Public Lighting Market size was valued at USD 8.72 million in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 13.95 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.05% from 2025 to 2033.

The Public Lighting Market plays a vital role in ensuring safe, energy-efficient, and sustainable urban environments worldwide. As of 2024, over 350 million public lighting units are installed globally, including street lights, pathway lamps, and area floodlights. Around 70% of these are conventional streetlights, while 30% are upgraded to modern LED or smart lighting systems. Municipalities replace an estimated 15 million conventional lamps each year with LED fixtures to cut power use and maintenance costs. Europe alone has over 90 million streetlights, with more than 60% upgraded to LED.

In North America, cities operate around 60 million public lights, with over 35 million already converted to energy-saving LED models. Asia-Pacific leads in new installations, adding more than 10 million new streetlights annually due to rapid urban growth. Smart street lighting networks now account for about 12% of all global installations, with over 40 million smart-enabled units deployed worldwide. More than 25 million solar-powered public lights have been installed globally, especially in rural and off-grid communities where grid electricity is limited. Public lighting systems contribute to urban safety, with well-lit streets proven to reduce nighttime crime by up to 30% in major cities.

Key Findings

DRIVER: Increasing energy efficiency targets and smart city investments drive large-scale upgrades to LED and connected public lighting.

COUNTRY/REGION: Europe remains the leader with more than 90 million installed public lights, and over 60% already converted to LED.

SEGMENT: LED lighting holds the largest share, accounting for around 55% of all new public lighting installations globally.

Public Lighting Market Trends

The Public Lighting Market is transforming rapidly as cities modernize aging streetlight networks with advanced LED, smart, and solar solutions. In 2023, over 20 million traditional streetlights were replaced with LED lamps worldwide, cutting annual energy use by billions of kilowatt-hours. Smart lighting systems are gaining ground, with over 40 million smart-enabled poles in use globally to enable remote monitoring, dimming, and adaptive brightness. In North America, over 50% of new public lighting installations now include smart sensors and IoT connectivity. Europe is at the forefront of energy retrofits, with cities like Berlin, London, and Paris upgrading more than 5 million lamps combined to LED in the past five years. Solar-powered lighting is expanding too — more than 3 million solar streetlights were installed globally in 2023, especially in Asia and Africa where rural communities benefit from off-grid solutions. Around 75% of municipalities cite energy savings of over 50% as the main reason for switching to LED. Integrated lighting management systems allow cities to monitor thousands of streetlights remotely, saving up to 60% on maintenance costs. Public-private partnerships help fund large retrofits, with over 1,500 cities worldwide using PPP models to modernize lighting infrastructure. Urban beautification trends also shape the market: decorative smart poles with color-changing LEDs have been installed in over 100 major cities to enhance public spaces. Roadway safety remains a top priority — better street lighting has helped reduce nighttime accidents by 20–30% on major urban roads. Sustainability goals are pushing innovation too, with about 25% of new lamps produced using recyclable or eco-friendly materials to align with city climate action plans.

Public Lighting Market Dynamics

Public Lighting Market Dynamics refers to the main factors and forces that influence how the public lighting market grows, adapts, and faces obstacles over time. These dynamics include drivers, such as the urgent push for energy efficiency and smart city upgrades driving the replacement of more than 15 million old lamps each year with LEDs; restraints, like high upfront installation costs that make it hard for cities to replace the remaining 70% of outdated lights; opportunities, including the expansion of solar-powered public lighting, which now covers over 25 million units worldwide; and challenges, such as the lack of skilled technicians to maintain over 40 million smart poles and the difficulty of supplying spare parts quickly in remote regions.

DRIVER

Rising demand for energy-efficient and smart city lighting solutions.

The main driver for the public lighting market is cities’ urgent need to reduce energy costs and meet sustainability goals. Over 350 million public lights worldwide consume large amounts of electricity, but retrofitting with LED and smart controls cuts energy use by more than 50%. Over 1,500 smart city projects globally include streetlight upgrades as a core element. Urban regions save up to 80% on maintenance costs through connected systems that automate fault detection and dimming. Governments are setting targets to convert 100% of old lamps to LED within the next decade. In North America alone, over 35 million lamps have already been switched to LED, with thousands more converted each month.

RESTRAINT

High upfront costs and funding gaps for retrofits.

A major challenge for cities is the large capital needed to replace aging lamps with modern LED and smart systems. Retrofitting one standard streetlight can cost between USD 200–500 depending on location and pole design. For big cities operating over 500,000 streetlights, this represents a massive upfront investment. While operating costs drop by half or more, many small municipalities lack funding. Over 30% of smaller cities in developing regions still depend on donor grants or subsidies to upgrade public lighting. Without new financing models, more than **100 million conventional lamps could remain in service beyond 2030.

OPPORTUNITY

Expansion of solar-powered and off-grid public lighting.

An emerging opportunity is the rapid adoption of solar-powered lighting, especially in rural and off-grid areas. Globally, over 25 million solar streetlights have been installed so far, with around 3 million units added in 2023 alone. In Africa and Southeast Asia, villages without grid access now rely on solar poles to light roads and community spaces. Some countries plan to double off-grid solar streetlight deployment by 2030. Solar public lighting also supports resilience goals — after storms or blackouts, solar poles maintain light, improving safety. New models integrate motion sensors, extending battery life and reducing power waste.

CHALLENGE

Maintenance complexity and lack of skilled workforce.

As smart and solar systems grow, the need for skilled technicians rises too. Many small cities still lack staff trained to install, program, and repair smart controllers, sensors, or solar modules. Around 40% of municipalities that installed smart lights in the last five years report delays in maintenance due to skill gaps. In Asia and Africa, importing spare parts for solar and smart poles can take weeks, leaving some streets dark until repairs are made. Cities with over 50,000 smart poles must build reliable support teams to handle network monitoring, software updates, and upgrades.

Public Lighting Market Segmentation

Public Lighting Market Segmentation describes how the overall market is divided into clear categories by type and application, helping cities and suppliers meet diverse needs for energy savings, safety, and sustainability. By type, the market includes LED Lighting, which makes up about 55% of new public light installations with more than 20 million new units added each year; Smart Lighting, which accounts for about 12% of installed systems with over 40 million smart-enabled poles in operation; and Solar Lighting, which represents about 7% of the global market with more than 25 million solar streetlights now installed. By application, segmentation covers Street Lighting, which uses over 70% of installed units worldwide; Urban Infrastructure like tunnels and bridges with about 50 million lights; Outdoor Spaces such as parks and plazas with around 40 million lights; and Government Projects that operate over 100 million units through national and municipal programs.

By Type

LED Lighting: LED lighting holds around 55% share of all new public light installations worldwide, with over 20 million new LED units added annually. LEDs cut power use by at least 50% compared to legacy lamps. Europe alone has upgraded more than 60% of its 90 million streetlights to LED. Municipalities favor LEDs for durability — they last 50,000–100,000 hours, compared to 10,000–15,000 hours for conventional bulbs.
Smart Lighting: Smart lighting accounts for about 12% of the global installed base, with over 40 million smart poles operating worldwide. New installations grow by over 5 million units each year. Smart streetlights have sensors, dimming, and remote controls that save up to 60% on maintenance and energy costs. Over 500 cities now manage large-scale smart streetlight networks through centralized dashboards.
Solar Lighting: Solar lighting makes up around 7% of the total market, with more than 25 million solar streetlights in service globally. Around 3 million new solar lights are deployed annually, especially in rural or off-grid areas. Hybrid models combine solar panels with smart controls to maximize battery life. Some cities now pilot fully solar-powered smart poles for net-zero public lighting.

By Application

Street Lighting: Street lighting remains dominant, covering more than 70% of all installed public lights.
Urban Infrastructure: Urban infrastructure uses lighting for bridges, tunnels, and underpasses, with about 50 million lights globally.
Outdoor Spaces: Outdoor spaces like parks and plazas use around 40 million units for safety and aesthetics.
Government Projects: Government projects, including highways and smart cities, account for over 100 million streetlights tied to national or municipal plans.

Regional Outlook for the Public Lighting Market

Regional Outlook for the Public Lighting Market explains how demand, upgrades, and installations differ by region based on urbanization, sustainability targets, and infrastructure spending. North America operates around 60 million public lights, with over 35 million already converted to energy-efficient LED systems and growing investments in smart networks adding millions more connected poles each year. Europe leads global retrofits, with more than 90 million streetlights and over 60% upgraded to LED, alongside widespread smart pole adoption in cities like London and Paris. Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing market, adding more than 10 million new streetlights yearly, driven by rapid urban expansion and large-scale solar installations, especially in China and Southeast Asia. Middle East & Africa are expanding public lighting to underserved areas, with over 25 million installed lights and a strong focus on solar poles for off-grid rural roads and urban smart lighting in tourist and smart city districts.

North America

North America holds over 60 million public lights, with more than 35 million converted to LED. Major U.S. cities run smart networks managing over 10 million connected poles combined. In Canada, cities added over 1 million LED units in the last three years, focusing on net-zero targets.

Europe

Europe leads globally with more than 90 million public lights, over 60% now LED. Western Europe runs over 15 million smart-enabled lamps, with cities like London, Amsterdam, and Paris piloting sensor-rich poles. Eastern Europe is upgrading older sodium lamps, replacing around 2 million units annually.

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, adding more than 10 million new streetlights every year. China alone operates over 120 million public lights, adding 5 million new LED or smart poles each year. India and Southeast Asia see rising demand for solar lights, installing about 1 million new solar poles yearly in off-grid areas.

Middle East & Africa

Middle East & Africa have around 25 million installed public lights, with over 5 million solar streetlights operating in rural villages. The Gulf region has invested heavily in decorative smart poles, adding more than 1 million units for tourist areas and smart city districts in recent years.

List of Top Public Lighting Market Companies

Signify Holding (Netherlands)
Acuity Brands (USA)
ams‑OSRAM AG (Germany)
Cree Lighting USA LLC (USA)
Zumtobel Group (Austria)
Cooper Lighting LLC (USA)
Hubbell (USA)
Schréder (Belgium)
Thorn (UK)
Itron Inc. (USA)

Signify Holding (Netherlands): Signify operates one of the largest installed bases, with over 50 million LED streetlights supplied globally.

Acuity Brands (USA): Acuity Brands delivers over 10 million LED and smart streetlights yearly for city projects across North America.

Investment Analysis and Opportunities

Investments in the Public Lighting Market are increasing as cities, utilities, and private operators push for smarter, greener, and more reliable lighting networks. In 2023 alone, more than 1,500 municipalities worldwide signed funding agreements or tenders to retrofit outdated streetlights with modern LED or smart-connected systems. European countries allocated funds to convert over 10 million old lamps, focusing on urban cores and suburban roads. North America continues to invest heavily, with U.S. cities budgeting to replace another 5 million units by 2025 to meet carbon reduction goals. Private investors are stepping in too: over 800 cities now run public lighting upgrades through public-private partnerships, allowing municipalities to spread retrofit costs over 10–15 years instead of paying upfront. This funding model helped install over 15 million LED and smart poles in 2023 alone. The solar lighting segment is also attracting new capital; more than 2 million solar streetlights were deployed in Africa and Asia in 2023 through blended finance projects combining government subsidies with NGO support. Smart pole technologies are drawing venture investment too, with companies testing integrated charging stations, Wi-Fi nodes, and environmental sensors on streetlights — more than 50,000 multi-function smart poles were installed globally last year. New investment is flowing into supply chains as well: manufacturers scaled up production of LED modules, smart controllers, and lithium battery packs for solar poles, with factories producing over 30 million LED units in 2023 to keep up with orders. With stricter energy mandates coming, over 100 countries plan to double or triple LED streetlight adoption by 2030. This ensures strong investment pipelines for suppliers, contractors, and municipalities working to modernize the world’s 350 million installed streetlights. As smart city spending expands, more opportunities will open for software, cloud control, and maintenance platforms, creating new business models around lighting-as-a-service and remote operations.

New Product Development

Product innovation in the Public Lighting Market is advancing rapidly as cities demand smarter, more efficient, and longer-lasting systems. In 2023, manufacturers launched more than 100 new LED models, increasing brightness efficiency by 10–20% while using less power. Smart pole suppliers rolled out upgraded controllers with 5G-ready modules, supporting real-time data feeds from over 50,000 newly installed smart poles. Acuity Brands introduced a next-generation adaptive streetlight with built-in sensors that adjust brightness based on pedestrian or vehicle movement, tested on 1 million lamps in pilot projects. Signify Holding deployed new solar-integrated LED systems, combining motion sensors and battery packs to deliver 12+ hours of light per day, even during cloudy weather — over 500,000 units were rolled out in Asia and Africa in 2023 alone. Battery life improvements extended average solar pole backup from 2 days to 4 days, ensuring reliable lighting in off-grid areas. New anti-glare and dark-sky compliant lenses are trending, with over 5 million LED units shipped in 2023 featuring shields that reduce light pollution by 40%. Decorative smart poles with color-changing LED arrays are being installed in urban plazas and tourist areas, with over 100 cities adopting them to enhance aesthetics and visitor appeal. Software upgrades are becoming part of new product rollouts — more than 20% of new smart streetlight projects now include AI-enabled fault detection that automatically alerts maintenance teams, cutting repair times by 30%. Modular designs are another trend: cities can swap parts like LED modules, controllers, or solar panels without replacing the entire pole, keeping more than 3 million streetlights upgrade-ready. Manufacturers are also using more recycled materials — over 10 million LED units produced in 2023 used aluminum and plastics with at least 30% recycled content. As cities aim for net-zero goals, new product lines continue to focus on sustainability, low maintenance, and integration with smart city data networks.

Five Recent Developments

Signify Holding delivered over 500,000 new smart-enabled LED streetlights for European city retrofit projects.
Acuity Brands rolled out 1 million adaptive LED lamps with motion sensors in North American pilot cities.
Schréder installed more than 200,000 decorative smart poles in urban plazas and tourist destinations worldwide.
Zumtobel Group launched a new solar-integrated public lighting system with 100,000 units deployed in Southeast Asia.
Cree Lighting USA LLC upgraded its modular LED streetlight platform, supplying 150,000 units with replaceable smart controllers.

Report Coverage of Public Lighting Market

This comprehensive report covers all major aspects driving the global Public Lighting Market, mapping the performance and future outlook of over 350 million installed streetlights worldwide. The report details how more than 70% of these units remain traditional lamps targeted for retrofits, while modern LED and smart poles already represent nearly 30% of the total installed base. The scope includes in-depth segmentation by type, showing how LED systems now account for 55% of new installations each year, smart lighting holds about 12%, and solar lighting adds another 7%, with rural deployments driving the off-grid segment. Regional coverage highlights Europe’s leadership with more than 90 million installed lights, North America’s 60 million lights and growing smart network share, Asia-Pacific’s rapid annual addition of over 10 million new poles, and the Middle East & Africa’s focus on expanding solar-powered systems. The report explains how investments flow through more than 1,500 city-level retrofit projects, over 800 active public-private partnerships, and factory production lines that supply over 30 million LED units yearly to meet replacement demand. It also covers product innovations, such as 100 new LED models launched last year, 50,000 smart poles added with advanced 5G and sensor functions, and 500,000 solar-integrated poles rolled out in rural regions. Dynamics chapters break down the main drivers like rising energy efficiency mandates and smart city plans, plus restraints like high upfront conversion costs for cities managing tens or hundreds of thousands of lamps. The report provides detailed insights into opportunities, from solar growth that reached over 25 million installed units globally to smart poles that double as data and connectivity hubs. It also outlines challenges such as the shortage of skilled technicians for smart lighting maintenance and spare parts delays in emerging markets. With verified facts and figures throughout, the report equips manufacturers, city planners, investors, and contractors with the essential intelligence to make decisions in the evolving global Public Lighting Market