The global electronic nautical chart market was valued at USD 5.9 billion in 2025. The market is projected to grow from USD 6.37 billion in 2026 to USD 13.23 billion by 2034, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 9.57% during the forecast period. Contrive Datum Insights presents this information in its report titled "Electronic Nautical Chart Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Chart type (Vector Charts (ENC / S-57), Raster Charts (RNC), Next-Gen S-100 Charts), Offering (Chart Data & Subscription Services, ECDIS Software & Systems, Update & Distribution Services), End user (Commercial / Merchant Shipping, Naval & Defense, Ports, Terminals & VTS Authorities, Fishing Vessels, Recreational & Leisure Boating), Vessel type (Bulk Carriers & Tankers, Container Ships, Passenger & Cruise Vessels, Offshore Support Vessels, Others), Deployment mode (Onboard / Embedded ECDIS Systems, Cloud-based / SaaS Chart Distribution), and Regional Forecast, 2026-2034".
Electronic nautical charts are digital representations of navigational data, including depth soundings, coastlines, hazards, and aids to navigation, delivered as vector datasets compliant with international hydrographic standards or as scanned raster equivalents of paper charts. They are distributed through subscription services and displayed on shipboard Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, alongside supporting software for chart updates, route planning, and voyage management. Buyers span commercial shipping operators, naval and coast guard fleets, fishing and offshore vessel owners, port and vessel traffic authorities, and recreational boaters, each requiring chart coverage and update frequency suited to their operating routes and regulatory obligations.
Expansion of mandatory ECDIS carriage to smaller and non-SOLAS vessel classes
Expansion of mandatory ECDIS carriage to smaller and non-SOLAS vessel classes is the largest single contributor to the market's growth over the forecast period, and the study rates its impact high. Against a market growing at 9.57% a year, the chart type lines exposed to it move fastest: Next-Gen S-100 Charts compounds at 21.95%, taking its share of revenue from 12% to 34% and its value from USD 0.71 billion to USD 4.5 billion.
The study also runs a bull case: the bull case assumes IHO member states hold their published S-100 rollout timelines and regulators extend mandatory carriage to additional vessel classes faster than the base case, pulling forward both the software upgrade cycle and subscription conversion. That path ends 2034 at USD 15.08 billion, above the USD 13.23 billion base case.
On the downside, the bear case assumes S-100 rollout timelines slip and regulators delay extending carriage mandates to currently exempt vessel classes, leaving more of the fleet reliant on free or low-cost government chart alternatives for longer, which would hold 2034 revenue to USD 11.38 billion. Vector Charts (ENC / S-57), which carries 74.1% of 2025 revenue, already grows at only 7.03% against the market's 9.57%, so the largest part of the base is also its slowest.
Additional Findings
| Segment | Led 2025 by | Share & value | Fastest-growing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offering | Chart Data & Subscription Services | 52% · USD 3.07 billion | Update & Distribution Services 11% |
| End user | Commercial / Merchant Shipping | 46% · USD 2.71 billion | Recreational & Leisure Boating 13.15% |
| Vessel type | Bulk Carriers & Tankers | 34% · USD 2.01 billion | Offshore Support Vessels 10.98% |
| Deployment mode | Onboard / Embedded ECDIS Systems | 82% · USD 4.84 billion | Cloud-based / SaaS Chart Distribution 16.62% |
- Asia Pacific was the largest region in 2025, holding 34% of global revenue at USD 2.01 billion and reaching USD 5.16 billion by 2034.
- Asia Pacific takes a rising share of global revenue over the forecast period, from 34% in 2025 to 39% in 2034, with revenue growing from USD 2.01 billion to USD 5.16 billion.
- At 6% of 2025 revenue and 6% by 2034, Middle East and Africa is the smallest region throughout.
- By chart type, the largest line in 2025 was Vector Charts (ENC / S-57), at 74.1% of revenue and USD 4.37 billion.
- No chart type line grows faster than Next-Gen S-100 Charts, at a projected 21.95%.
- The United States is the largest single country market at USD 1.11 billion in 2025, 18.8% of global revenue.
Every year from 2020 to 2034 is reported, with revenue and growth for each line across five axes: by chart type, and by offering, end user, vessel type and deployment mode. The headline total carries bear, base and bull cases at USD 11.38 billion and USD 15.08 billion by 2034. The study also breaks out all five regions to country level, sets out the competitive landscape, and documents the method behind every estimate. Available as a PDF, with a free sample on request.