Back in 2018, Drone Industry Insights decided to carry out a survey about the drone industry in Europe. The goal was to understand the local drone industry at a much deeper level by collecting information about drone companies that came directly from the drone companies themselves. And that is how first ever Drone Industry Barometer was born: a survey for the drone industry and by the drone industry.

This initial survey collected 350 responses from around Europe, though there was a strong presence from Germany, where the company is based. But the next year, this Eurocentric survey went global and the 2nd Drone Industry Barometer received over 500 responses from companies in 74 countries. The majority of respondents came from Germany, the US, Switzerland the UK and Canada, and the results were able to confidently show the drone industry is a service-oriented industry.

In 2020, the number of respondents increased to 697, and the top countries in terms of responses were the US, Germany, Spain, the UK and Japan. This survey also showed that the industry is dominated by startups, where 53% of companies had 10 employees or less, followed by companies with a size below 50 employees (22%). Nevertheless, there were still 65 companies with more than 1,000 employees who contributed to the survey.

Then the pandemic hit. This translated into a slight decrease of 678 responses from 64 countries in the 4th Barometer. However, this edition was also able to break the Chinese firewall so-to-speak, and China was the #1 country in terms of responses, followed by the US, Japan, Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Finally, the 5th Drone Industry Barometer of 2022 saw a record 891 responses from 81 countries. Most interestingly, the survey was also able to elaborate on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic before, during and after global lockdowns and restrictions by discussing survey results from 2019-2022.

For the 2023 survey, Drone Industry Insights has established global partnerships with drone associations, drone media, and leading drone events who were generous enough to offer free tickets to their events as a reward for participation. These ticket-offering partner events include [in alphabetical order]: Amsterdam Drone Week, Commercial UAV Expo, Drone Show Korea, Drone-X, Dronitaly, Interaerial Solutions, and Japan Drone. In other words, this promises to be the most global, inclusive and representative survey ever carried out.

If you are a drone industry professional, you can complete the survey now! Rewards for participation include the chance to win a Skydio 2 drone, tickets to various drone events around the world, and of course a complimentary free copy of the final survey results (right to your inbox). Be part of the only global drone industry survey for drone professionals by drone professionals: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/droneii-barometer-2023-cuavx