Total data ever created (cumulative)97 sextillion bytes
48.5 quintillionPrinted pages
346 quintillionTweet texts
~97 zettabytes by mid-2020s; IDC Global DataSphere estimate
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
All Data Ever Created
97 zettabytes and counting, mostly never looked at again/Collective & Conceptual
The global datasphere, all data created, captured, copied, and consumed, is estimated to have reached roughly 97-120 zettabytes by the mid-2020s, with projections exceeding 180 zettabytes by 2025. The vast majority of this data is ephemeral: temporary files, streaming video, IoT sensor readings, and social media posts that are never stored permanently. If you stored all of it on standard Blu-ray discs, the stack would reach from Earth to the Moon over 40 times. About 2% of data created is actually retained and stored.
Measurements
Data actually stored/retained3.3 sextillion bytes
12.6 quadrillionNES cartridges
660 billionHD movies
4.4 trillionHuman genomes
Only ~2-3% of all data created is retained; ~33 ZB stored
Annual data creation rate12 sextillion bytes
3 quadrillionDownloaded MP3s
4 quintillionQR codes
~120 ZB created or replicated per year as of 2023
Annual energy for data storage2.2 quintillion J
34,921Hiroshima blasts
2.2 billionLightning bolts
4.4 quintillionDropped phones
Data centers use ~1% of global electricity; ~700 TWh/year total
Mass of all stored data (electrons)60 billionths kg
9.4 billionthsBowling balls
40 billionthsTextbooks
All stored data weighs ~60 nanograms in electrons; lighter than a grain of sand