Raphael Bohne
Research expert covering professional services
Consulting industry worldwide - statistics & facts
The consulting services sector has expanded at a fast pace in the last several years, with North America and Europe that have represented the largest regional markets worldwide. The average revenue per management consultant, for instance, reached 212,000 U.S. dollars in 2023. The dramatic growth of the industry between 2020 and 2023 has proven that companies need external consultants with strategic knowledge about business administration, business development, as well as expertise about the industry in which clients operate. This business value was demonstrated by the market size of the management consultant industry worldwide reaching almost 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. The revenue distribution of the management consulting industry has often been broken down by service line or expertise, and this has normally been represented by financial and strategic categories. The influence of management consulting services has continued to spread, with the outsourcing of public services by the UK government serving as a prime example of this.
An upward trajectory in number of consultants, salaries, market value, and number of management consulting businesses have indicated that this industry may not yet have peaked. Growth patterns have shown little-to-no signs of changing or slowing down over all segments of the management consulting industry, as consulting services have remained as a key influence all over the global economy.
The North American consulting market
North America, and in particular the United States, has been home to the largest consulting services market worldwide. The management consulting market size in the United States was valued at approximately 374 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. It therefore should come as no surprise that the United States has been home to some of the leading consulting firms across the world. The so-called Big Four - Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and KPMG - have become household names in recent years. The gross revenue of the Big Four accounting/audit firms in the United States reached almost 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. These firms operate in all four corners of the globe where they have employed hundreds of thousands of consultants.No signs of slowing down
The number of consultants at the leading executive search firms remained high over the last few years. In the same time period, the average entry salary for consultants with an MBA or PhD also increased noticeably. With the industry seemingly growing exponentially in all continents, it seems likely revenues will continue to increase and influence will continue to spread.An upward trajectory in number of consultants, salaries, market value, and number of management consulting businesses have indicated that this industry may not yet have peaked. Growth patterns have shown little-to-no signs of changing or slowing down over all segments of the management consulting industry, as consulting services have remained as a key influence all over the global economy.
