Data centres are the backbone of artificial intelligence and power everything from AI chatbot queries, streamed video, and cloud-stored files.
They are large facilities that house servers, storage systems and networking equipment used to store, process, and distribute data. The more data centres, the more AI. But they use large amounts of energy and require a lot of land.
Data centres are “where compute is housed”, according to the AI Index Report 2026, published by Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. The report emphasises that “their capacity, geographic distribution, and underlying supply chains shape what AI systems can be built and where.”
Which countries host the most data centres worldwide? How many are located in Europe? And how does Europe compare in the global distribution of data centres?
US leads by a wide margin
Most of the world’s data centre infrastructure is concentrated in a small number of countries. According to Cloudscene, which the report also uses, the United States (US) leads by a wide margin with 5,427 data centres in 2025. This is more than ten times the number in any other country, showing the scale of US leadership.
Germany and UK ahead of China
Two major European economies, Germany (529) and the United Kingdom (523), follow behind the US. It is striking that they rank ahead of China, which hosts 449 data centres, despite its strength as a technology and innovation power.
Canada (337), France (322) and Australia (314) are other countries with over 300 data centres. The Netherlands is also close to that level with 298 centres.
Most of the remaining countries each have fewer than 300 facilities.
Russia (251) and Japan (222) complete the top 10 in the number of data centres. Brazil and Mexico also host between 150 and 200 centres.
EU’s total is less than half of the US
EU countries together host 2,269 data centres. This is 42% of the US total. When the UK is included, the figure rises to around 51% of the US level. This emphasises the strong position of the US again.
Distribution of data centres across Europe
Following the strong positions of Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands, only a few other European countries host more than 100 data centres. These are Italy (168), Spain (144), Poland (144) and Switzerland (121).
Sweden (95), Belgium (81), Austria (68), Ukraine (58), Ireland (55) and Denmark (50) host between 50-100 data centres.
Regional patterns are clear in the distribution of data centres in Europe. Western Europe dominates, while Northern Europe is smaller but strategically important. Central and Eastern Europe are more fragmented and less developed.
Several EU countries have fewer than 35 data centres. Among the EU candidate countries, Turkey leads with 35.
FLAP-D markets
Europe’s data centre industry is centred around a familiar group of cities: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, the so-called FLAP-D markets. They attract most investment, infrastructure and operator activity according to Atlas Edge.
These locations dominate because they combine major internet exchange points, strong demand from finance and tech sectors, excellent connectivity, a strong cloud presence, and stable regulatory and business environments.
While the FLAP countries rank among the top across Europe, including the EU, candidate countries, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the UK, Ireland lags behind in the total number of data centres.
Capacity matters
These figures reflect only the number of data centres. “The U.S. may show a clear lead, but the other country rankings should be assessed with the understanding that data centre counts do not capture differences in facility size, computing capacity, or utilisation,” the report notes.
According to the World Bank’s “Advancing Cloud and Data Infrastructure Markets” report, four factors determine cloud and data infrastructure investment decisions:
- reliable and affordable energy,
- resilient broadband connectivity,
- favourable geography and access to land,
- and a stable political and business environment.
“Low- and middle-income countries face challenges in attracting investments in data centre infrastructure because of weaknesses in power and broadband infrastructure, and in the strength of their business environments,” the report finds.