Digital Identity in Education Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Digital Identity in Education Market is projected to expand significantly, growing from USD 3.71 Billion in 2025 to USD 12.18 Billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of 21.91%. In this sector, digital identity encompasses the electronic representation of data for students, faculty, and administrators, facilitating credential verification and access management for institutional resources. The market’s expansion is primarily fueled by the urgent requirement to secure remote learning environments and the critical necessity of implementing verifiable credentialing systems to curb academic fraud. Additionally, the push for operational efficiency drives the adoption of these solutions, as educational institutions aim to optimize administrative workflows and ensure seamless access across distributed digital platforms.

Despite these growth factors, the market encounters substantial hurdles regarding the financial and technical intricacies of embedding robust identity management into aging legacy infrastructures while maintaining strict compliance with data privacy laws. This challenge is intensified by the growing frequency of cyber threats aimed at educational data. For instance, the Consortium for School Networking noted in 2024 that 72 percent of school districts implemented two-factor authentication to bolster their security postures, highlighting the critical need for institutions to adopt rigorous identity verification measures to counter escalating digital risks.

Market Drivers

The critical demand for strengthened cybersecurity and data privacy compliance acts as a primary catalyst for the Global Digital Identity in Education Market. As educational institutions digitize sensitive records, they increasingly attract malicious actors, making advanced identity verification essential to prevent unauthorized access. The severity of this threat landscape is highlighted by Check Point Research’s August 2025 report, "Cyber Attacks Surge Against Education Sector Ahead of Back-to-School Season," which identified education as the most targeted industry globally, averaging 4,356 weekly attacks per organization - a 41 percent increase from the prior year. Consequently, schools are aggressively investing in identity and access management (IAM) systems to protect student privacy and mitigate the risks posed by relentless digital intrusions.

At the same time, the rapid growth of the E-Learning and EdTech sectors is reshaping identity management necessities. The proliferation of digital tools has created a fragmented ecosystem where interoperability and single sign-on capabilities are vital for administrative oversight and user experience. This fragmentation is substantial; according to Instructure’s June 2025 "Eighth EdTech Top 40" report, U.S.

school districts utilized an average of 2,982 distinct edtech tools annually, underscoring the logistical difficulties of managing digital identities across various platforms. This challenge is further complicated by rising enrollment numbers that require scalable provisioning. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported in 2025 that U.S. college enrollment increased by 4.5 percent in the fall of 2024, driving the need for automated solutions capable of handling larger student intakes efficiently.

Market Challenges

The financial and technical difficulties associated with integrating modern identity management systems into legacy infrastructures constitute a major barrier to the growth of the global digital identity in education market. Many educational institutions rely on outdated, fragmented IT ecosystems that lack the necessary interoperability to seamlessly support advanced digital identity solutions. This technical rigidity compels institutions to face high costs for system customization and overhauls, expenses that are often unmanageable given the stagnant or tightening technology budgets within the education sector. As a result, decision-makers frequently delay the adoption of these critical solutions, viewing the required infrastructure upgrades as financially unsustainable.

This hesitation is exacerbated by an intensifying threat landscape, where the immediate necessity to defend against active attacks diverts resources from strategic, long-term identity governance investments. Schools are often forced to allocate their limited funds toward reactive incident response rather than building proactive identity architectures. According to the K12 Security Information eXchange, 85 ransomware attacks against U.S. public school districts were recorded over a two-year monitoring period ending in 2024. The high frequency of these targeted cyber incidents forces administrators to prioritize business continuity and threat containment, thereby slowing the procurement and implementation of comprehensive digital identity frameworks.

Market Trends

The rise of interoperable micro-credentialing and digital badging ecosystems is fundamentally transforming the educational landscape by prioritizing verified skill acquisition over traditional degree-focused models. As institutions adjust curricula to align with workforce requirements, there is a distinct shift toward stackable credentials that enable learners to demonstrate specific competencies to employers in real-time via verifiable or blockchain-secured formats. This trend is accelerating as universities collaborate with industry leaders to create certifications that bridge the gap between academic results and job readiness. According to Coursera’s March 2025 "2024 Impact Report," demand for these flexible credentials has surged, with learners amassing over 14 million enrollments in entry-level Professional Certificates, reflecting a growing reliance on alternative digital credentials for career progression.

Simultaneously, the adoption of mobile-first digital student IDs is revolutionizing campus access and user experience, evolving from simple identification tools into comprehensive digital wallets for institutional engagement. This transition is driven by student expectations for seamless, contactless technology that integrates payments, library services, and physical building access onto their personal smartphones, effectively retiring legacy physical cards. The preference for this digital-first approach is becoming dominant as institutions upgrade hardware to support digital wallet and NFC standards. According to TouchNet’s June 2025 "2025 Student Financial Experience Report," less than one-third of surveyed students preferred physical ID cards, highlighting the rapid obsolescence of traditional plastic credentials in favor of mobile-integrated identity solutions.

Key Players Profiled in the Digital Identity in Education Market

• Microsoft Corporation
• IBM Corporation
• Okta, Inc.
• Ping Identity Holding Corp.
• RSA Security LLC
• OneLogin, Inc.
• SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc.
• ForgeRock, Inc.
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Google LLC
• Amazon Web Services, Inc.
• HID Global Corporation

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Digital Identity in Education Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Digital Identity in Education Market, by Offering:

• Solutions
• Services

Digital Identity in Education Market, by Solution Type:

• Identity Verification
• Authentication
• Identity Lifecycle Management
• Other

Digital Identity in Education Market, by Identity Type:

• Biometric
• Non-biometric

Digital Identity in Education Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Digital Identity in Education Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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