ND
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing data-centre regions in the world. Governments announce new campuses almost weekly, and Johor, Jakarta and Bangkok now rank among Asia's busiest construction markets. Yet a simple question has no single answer: how many data centres does the region actually have?
It depends on who is counting and what they count. This article sets out the latest figures from public trackers, governments and property consultancies, and explains why they differ.
The headline count: about 570 to 670 facilities
Two widely used public directories give different totals, checked by NDNews on 30 September 2026:
| Country | Data Center Map | Baxtel |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 204 | 153 |
| Malaysia | 125 | 188 |
| Singapore | 66 | 110 |
| Thailand | 65 | 97 |
| Vietnam | 45 | 56 |
| Philippines | 44 | 49 |
| Cambodia | 10 | 9 |
| Myanmar | 5 | 5 |
| Brunei | 4 | — |
| Laos | 2 | — |
| Total | about 570 | 667 |
Sources: Data Center Map country pages and Baxtel's Southeast Asia page. Both are live listings, so the numbers change over time.
The gap comes down to method. Some directories list only colocation sites, where operators rent space to many customers. Others also include enterprise, telecom and hyperscale facilities. Baxtel's listings also appear to include sites that are still under construction.
Official figures add a third view. Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information said in February 2026 that the country has "more than 70" cloud, enterprise and colocation data centres with total capacity above 1.4 gigawatts (MDDI). Indonesia's communications ministry counted 180 operating data centres as of April 2025, ANTARA reported.
Why megawatts matter more than site counts
A small server room and a 100MW hyperscale campus each count as one facility. That is why the industry measures data centres by power capacity, usually in megawatts (MW) of IT load.
On that measure, the ranking changes. According to Knight Frank's Data Centre Atlas 2026, also reported by The Edge, and Cushman & Wakefield's H1 2026 report (C&W):
| Market | Live capacity | Under construction / pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| Johor, Malaysia | 1,110MW (Knight Frank) | 8,542MW incoming (Knight Frank); 602MW under construction (C&W) |
| Singapore | 1,118MW (Knight Frank) | 561MW incoming (Knight Frank) |
| Greater Jakarta | 316–344MW (Knight Frank) | 3,739MW incoming (Knight Frank); 395MW under construction (C&W) |
| Bangkok | 136MW (Knight Frank) | 4,981MW incoming (Knight Frank); 859MW under construction (C&W) |
Knight Frank's report gives two figures for live capacity in Greater Jakarta: 316MW in its market data and 344MW in its text. "Incoming" or "pipeline" figures include planned projects that may never be built, so they are much larger than what is under construction. Johor now has about as much live capacity as Singapore. It has a far larger pipeline, which is why the Johor–Singapore corridor dominates regional investment.
The broader trend is set out in the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek and Bain, which says the region has "over 4,600 MW new capacity planned" and that capacity is "set to grow by 180%" (Bain).
"AI and cloud investment across Asia Pacific has entered a phase of rapid, power-constrained execution," said Andrew Green, head of Cushman & Wakefield's data-centre group for Asia-Pacific.
Indonesia: the numbers that don't agree
Indonesia has the most facilities listed on Data Center Map but relatively little capacity per site, and estimates of its total vary widely:
- 190MW (October 2024), rising to 290MW (June 2025): the communications ministry, via ANTARA.
- 650MW installed, possibly 1.7GW by end-2026: industry association IDPRO, via Katadata (August 2026).
- About 800MW now: Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, via Fortune Indonesia (September 2026).
The spread reflects different definitions: installed versus operational capacity, IT load versus total power, and which projects are included. For how the build-out is changing Indonesia's economy, see our analysis of AI data centres in Asia.
Cloud regions: where the hyperscalers are
Hyperscale cloud "regions" are clusters of data centres run by the largest providers. According to the providers' own pages, checked on 30 September 2026:
| Provider | Live in Southeast Asia | Announced |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | Singapore, Jakarta, Malaysia, Thailand | — |
| Google Cloud | Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok (launched January 2026) | Malaysia |
| Microsoft Azure | Singapore, Indonesia Central, Malaysia West | "Southeast Asia 3" in Johor Bahru |
| Oracle | Singapore (two), Batam, Kulai (Johor) | — |
| Alibaba Cloud | Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok | Johor (2026) |
Sources: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Oracle, Alibaba Cloud.
Vietnam and the Philippines still have no AWS region, although Alibaba Cloud operates in Manila.
What is holding growth back
Power. Singapore paused most new data-centre approvals between 2019 and January 2022 (DCD). It now allocates capacity through competitive calls. In August 2026 it awarded 50MW each to Digital Realty, Equinix, Keppel and STT GDC on Jurong Island, with green-energy conditions attached (TNGlobal). In Indonesia, IDPRO says some operators wait two to three years for new substations.
Water and approvals. Johor has tightened approvals and now requires developers to show power, water and cooling arrangements at the approval stage (BTW Media). In Thailand, the national data-centre policy board on 4 September paused 49 projects under construction and put 117 pending applications on hold while new rules are drafted, citing water and power use (The Nation).
Regulation. Singapore's Digital Infrastructure Bill, which had its first reading on 8 September, would license data centres above set capacity thresholds, and major cloud providers, for security, resilience and sustainability (MDDI).
What to watch
- How much of the pipeline gets built. Grid connections and approvals will decide how much of Johor's, Jakarta's and Bangkok's pipeline becomes live capacity.
- Thailand's new rules. The terms of Thailand's new data-centre regulations, and when paused projects can resume.
- Indonesia's official data. A single government count of capacity would make investment claims easier to judge.
- New cloud regions in Malaysia, Johor and possibly Vietnam and the Philippines.
This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. Facility counts come from live directories checked on 30 September 2026 and will change; capacity figures are as published by the linked sources. It is not investment advice.