Document management spans paper archives, electronic records, digitization, search and data infrastructure. The figures below cover U.S. federal records and UK business data practices, with periods and definitions kept explicit because these are not a single global market measure.
Key Document Management Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- 13.5 billion pieces of paper were held in the U.S. National Archives’ permanent holdings as of August 24, 2026.
- More than 33 billion electronic records were held in the U.S. National Archives as of August 24, 2026.
- 86% of UK businesses handled some type of digitised data in 2025–2026.
- 99% of UK small businesses handled digitised data in 2025–2026.
- 31% of UK businesses handling digitised data used a public cloud provider in 2025–2026.
- 20% of UK businesses handling digitised data reported a server or cloud outage or downtime during the previous year.
- 532,047,895 digitized pages were in the National Archives Catalog as of August 24, 2026.
- 129 million page views were recorded by the National Archives Catalog in fiscal year 2025.
- 1,603,870 veterans-record requests were fulfilled by the U.S. National Archives in 2024.
- 67% to 71% of U.S. federal agencies had inventories identifying electronic information systems, record locations and retention instructions in 2023 reporting.
- 33% of U.S. federal agencies had fully implemented electronic recordkeeping systems in 2023 reporting.
- 24% of U.S. federal agencies said their systems met National Archives requirements and had successfully transferred permanent electronic records in 2023 reporting.
- 74% of U.S. federal agencies had systems managing and preserving email electronically with limited end-user input in 2023 reporting.
- 67% of U.S. federal agencies had identified permanent records series for digitization in 2023 reporting.
- 8% of UK businesses handling digitised data said data use always or most of the time led to more efficient internal processes in 2025–2026.
- 5% of UK businesses handling digitised data said data use always or most of the time led to innovation or new business functions in 2025–2026.
Contents
- Document management statistics: the scale of digital and physical records
- Document management adoption and digitization trends
- Electronic records capture, preservation and compliance statistics
- Document retrieval, access and discovery statistics
- Business data management, storage and cloud trends
- Document management outcomes, governance and operational impact
Document Management Statistics: The Scale of Digital and Physical Records
The National Archives provides an institution-specific view of record scale rather than a worldwide document-management estimate. As of August 24, 2026, its permanent holdings included 13.5 billion pieces of paper and more than 33 billion electronic records, reported as 1 petabyte.
The same holdings included several non-paper formats that matter to long-term information management:
- More than 450 million feet of film, equivalent to about 85,302 miles, were held by the National Archives as of August 24, 2026.
- The National Archives held 41 million photographs as of August 24, 2026.
- It held 40 million aerial images as of August 24, 2026.
- It held 10 million maps, charts, and architectural or engineering drawings as of August 24, 2026.
Annual intake shows that record volume continues to be created or transferred into custody. In 2024, the National Archives accessioned 88,498 cubic feet of analog records and 463 terabytes of electronic records.
| Record measure | Figure | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Agency records in Federal Records Centers | 26 million cubic feet | As of August 24, 2026; U.S. Federal Records Centers |
| Analog accessions | 88,498 cubic feet | 2024; U.S. National Archives |
| Electronic accessions | 463 terabytes | 2024; U.S. National Archives |
The 26 million cubic feet held in Federal Records Centers represents records-center custody, not all U.S. government records. These figures also should not be combined into a global document-management market size.
Source: National Archives by the Numbers.
Document Management Adoption and Digitization Trends
The UK Business Data Survey measures digitised-data handling, which is broader than dedicated document-management software. It nevertheless indicates how widely businesses work with digital information.
| UK business population | 2025–2026 | Earlier comparison |
|---|---|---|
| All businesses handling digitised data | 86% | 81% in 2020–2021; 85% in 2021–2022; 77% in 2023–2024 |
| Small businesses | 99% | — |
| Medium businesses | 99% | — |
| Large businesses | 96% | — |
| Sole traders | 83% | 73% in 2023–2024 |
| Micro businesses | 92% | 86% in 2023–2024 |
The 2023–2024 result of 77% may reflect sampling variation or short-term fluctuation, and the survey cautions that changing modes and samples can affect cross-year comparisons. In 2025–2026, 78% of UK businesses had a website, compared with 68% in 2023–2024; website ownership is an adjacent digitalization indicator, not a document-management measure.
Source: UK Business Data Survey 2026.
Electronic Records Capture, Preservation and Compliance Statistics
The 2023 Federal Agency Records Management Report is a self-assessment of U.S. federal agencies. Its percentages describe agencies or relevant subsets, not private firms or the general public.
Between 67% and 71% of agencies had inventories of electronic information systems identifying records, locations and retention instructions, depending on the inventory element. 90% had incorporated or integrated internal controls for electronic-record reliability, authenticity, integrity and usability at least to some extent.
Implementation was less complete for transfer and full recordkeeping:
- 24% of U.S. federal agencies said their systems met National Archives requirements and had successfully transferred permanent electronic records in 2023 reporting.
- 20% were testing their systems’ capability to transfer permanent electronic records.
- 33% had fully implemented electronic recordkeeping systems covering capture, classification, filing, management, retention and metadata.
- 10% of federal system owners were not aware of their responsibilities for managing permanent electronic records.
Email practices also shifted substantially. The number of agencies using print-and-file for email fell from 184 in 2013 to 9 in 2023, while 74% had systems managing and preserving email electronically with limited end-user input on retention and disposition.
In addition, 76% audited or tracked email-record use through system reports.
These measures capture capability and reported practice, not a universal compliance rate. “At least some extent,” testing, awareness and successful transfer are different statuses.
Source: Federal Agency Records Management Report 2023.
Document Retrieval, Access and Discovery Statistics
Digitization changes not only preservation but also how records are discovered and served. As of August 24, 2026, the National Archives Catalog contained 532,047,895 digitized pages, while NARA had 18.9 million digital images in the Digital Public Library of America.
The measures below describe distinct channels and should not be treated as one user count:
- NARA records received 9.5 billion views across Wiki platforms as of August 24, 2026; this is cumulative platform activity.
- The National Archives Catalog recorded 129 million page views in fiscal year 2025; page views are not unique users or document retrievals.
- NARA reported 45,144 research visits and furnished 278,469 items in its research rooms in 2024.
- NARA fulfilled 84,241 off-site reference requests in 2024.
- NARA fulfilled 1,603,870 veterans-record requests in 2024; requests are not unique records or users.
Federal Records Centers add a separate operational workload. In 2023, they completed more than 9.4 million IRS requests and more than 725,000 general reference requests.
Source: National Archives by the Numbers.
Business Data Management, Storage and Cloud Trends
Among UK businesses handling digitised data in 2025–2026, 31% used a public cloud provider, 19% used their own private cloud and 27% used servers on their own premises. These categories describe storage and processing for data broadly, not documents alone, and they are not mutually exclusive in the supplied measure.
Operational resilience remains part of document infrastructure: 20% of UK businesses handling digitised data reported a server or cloud outage or downtime in the previous year. The survey measured whether an incident occurred, not its severity or duration.
Data types were also widespread. In 2025–2026, 67% of UK businesses handled digitised personal data other than employee data, while 56% handled non-personal data other than employee data.
Perceptions of outside data availability over the previous three years were mixed:
- 32% said outside data had become more readily available.
- 41% said availability had not changed.
- 9% said outside data had become less readily available.
These are perceived changes rather than measured changes in data volume. The population is UK businesses handling digitised data, not all document-management users.
Source: UK Business Data Survey 2026.
Document Management Outcomes, Governance and Operational Impact
The UK survey reports associations between data use and outcomes, not causal effects. In 2025–2026, 8% of UK businesses handling digitised data said data use always or most of the time led to more efficient internal processes, 18% said this happened some of the time, and 49% said it did not happen at all.
For innovation or new business functions, 5% said the outcome occurred always or most of the time, 16% said some of the time, and 54% said it did not occur at all. Larger businesses reported more frequent positive outcomes than smaller groups: 29% of large UK businesses reported frequent process-efficiency gains versus 11% of small businesses, while 12% of large businesses reported frequent innovation outcomes versus 5% of micro businesses.
Federal digitization governance shows a similar distinction between plans, implementation and evidence:
- 67% of U.S. federal agencies had identified permanent records series for digitization in 2023 reporting.
- 66% planned to transfer digitized versions to the National Archives.
- 60% were digitizing records to designate the digitized version as the recordkeeping copy.
- 77% said National Archives digitization standards met their expectations, while 61% said they were using them.
- Among agencies digitizing records as the recordkeeping copy, 69% had established a validation process for permanent-record digitization.
- 30% of agencies reporting a digitization validation process could not submit documentation supporting their response.
The final figure is limited to the relevant subset and highlights why adoption, stated intent, validated process and completed transfer should be reported separately.
Source: Federal Agency Records Management Report 2023; UK Business Data Survey 2026.