Since the very first coworking spaces were established in the early 2000’s, the number of these flexible workspaces has continued to expand on a global scale — not only in the total supply that’s available, but also in size and capacity.
As COVID-19 caused coworking operators to adapt their strategies to entice members to return to in-person work, many made significant changes to their spaces and offerings, which included rethinking the layout of their offices. With members now demanding things like more separated, spacious areas to work as well as good hygiene and safety standards, some operators decided to forgo open-plan seating entirely, shrinking the number of available workstations and prioritizing private offices instead.
With a new era of coworking unfolding, we launched a new report examining what today’s coworking spaces look like on a regional basis in terms of size and capacity. Using data from Coworker’s network of 19,500 coworking spaces in 172 countries, the 2022 Global Size & Capacity Report indicates which countries and cities currently have the largest coworking spaces in 2022, and which have demonstrated contraction.
Our Analysis: Comparing Pre-Pandemic Sizing with Current Sizing Data
In the report, a size comparison for coworking spaces in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and currently is presented, providing an interesting portrait of the regions where the most growth or contraction occurred during the pandemic.
Three out of the seven regions analyzed, including Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, and Latin America, showed an increase in the average size of their coworking spaces between 2019-2022. All other regions, including Central America, Middle East & Africa, United Kingdom, and U.S. & Canada, saw the average size of their coworking spaces contract as a result of the pandemic.
In particular, APAC witnessed the most significant growth in square footage of 7%, moving from an average size of 7,238 sq. ft. to 7,755 sq. ft.
On the other end of the spectrum, the UK saw the largest decline in the size of its spaces between 2019 and presently, decreasing by 9% from 8,748 sq. ft. to 7,969 sq. ft.
To read a detailed analysis of what these statistics reveal about the industry at large, download the full 2022 Global Size & Capacity Report.
