Smart Card in Government Market Report 2026

The smart card in government market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $6.25 billion in 2025 to $6.87 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growing demand for secure identity, rising need for digital governance, increasing adoption of e-services, expansion of government digitization programs, and growing focus on fraud prevention.

The smart card in government market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $9.93 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing investment in cybersecurity, rising citizen convenience expectations, growing smart city initiatives, expansion of contactless transaction systems, and rising adoption of multi-application smartcards. Major trends in the forecast period include technology advancements in smartcard security, innovations in biometric-enabled cards, developments in cloud-based credential management, research and developments in blockchain identity solutions, and innovations in sustainable card materials.

The growing digitalization of public services is expected to drive the expansion of the smart card in government market in the coming years. Digitalization of public services refers to the transformation of traditional government operations and citizen interactions into streamlined online and digital platforms. This increase is driven by governments implementing automation and online systems to provide faster and more efficient citizen services that align with private sector standards. Smart cards in government support this digitalization by acting as secure physical tokens for digital identity, allowing citizens to safely access e-government platforms and verify their identity for online services. For instance, in February 2025, Eurostat, a Luxembourg-based statistical authority of the European Union, reported that 70 percent of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU used a public authority website or application in 2024, up from 69.3 percent in 2023. As a result, the expansion of digital public services is fueling growth in the smart card in government market.

Major companies in the smart card in government market are concentrating on advanced technologies, such as supervised multi-acquisition remote enrollment, to simplify identity verification, strengthen security, and provide efficient access to credentialing services for civil and criminal applications. Supervised multi-acquisition remote enrollment enables a system to allow a single remote agent to securely manage multiple enrollment processes at once while complying with digital identity standards. For instance, in October 2025, Idemia Public Security North America, a US-based identity technology provider, introduced its Supervised Multi-Acquisition Remote Technology for Enrollment (SMART-E) kiosks along with next-generation driver’s licenses and ID cards across several U.S. states. The SMART-E system allows one remote agent to oversee multiple enrollments simultaneously with a fingerprint rejection rate under two percent, while the new ID cards are made with tamper-resistant materials designed for ten-year durability. These innovations are being implemented in Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, and Texas to modernize identity verification and credentialing systems.

In July 2025, IN Groupe, a France-based provider of secure identity and trust services, acquired Idemia Smart Identity for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition aimed to merge IN Groupe’s expertise in secure document production and identity credentials with Idemia Smart Identity’s biometric technologies and digital ID platforms, positioning the company as a leader in comprehensive physical and digital identity solutions and trusted services. Idemia Smart Identity is a France-based firm specializing in physical and digital smart identity card solutions.

Major companies operating in the smart card in government market are Thales S.A., Infineon Technologies AG, STMicroelectronics N.V., NXP Semiconductors N.V., Avery Dennison Corporation, Zebra Technologies Corporation, Giesecke+Devrient GmbH, HID Global Corporation, Entrust Inc., SICPA S.A., Mühlbauer Holding AG, Bundesdruckerei GmbH, CPI Card Group Inc., Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych S.A., IN Groupe S.A., Evolis S.A., Veridos GmbH, Watchdata Technologies Co. Ltd., KL Hi-Tech Secure Print Limited, PAV CARD GmbH, Madras Security Printers Pvt. Ltd., Matica Technologies AG, ID Smart Cards Creations Pvt. Ltd.

North America was the largest region in the smart card in government market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the smart card in government market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the smart card in government market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

Tariffs have influenced the smart card in government market by increasing costs of imported smart card chips, biometric sensors, and secure hardware modules. The impact is most visible in large scale national id and passport programs, particularly in regions dependent on overseas semiconductor supply chains. Governments and vendors are responding by localizing card manufacturing and sourcing secure components domestically. In some cases, tariffs have strengthened domestic smart card ecosystems and enhanced national security compliance.

A smart card in government refers to a secure, tamper-proof card containing a microprocessor or memory chip that stores and manages data for official use. It is employed to enhance authentication, identity verification, and secure access to government services and systems. These cards contribute to increased efficiency, decreased fraud, and reinforced security in governmental operations and transactions.

The main components of Smart Cards in government include hardware, software, and services. Hardware refers to the physical smart cards and embedded chip modules used for secure identification, authentication, and data storage in government applications. Card types include contact-based smart cards, contactless smart cards, dual-interface smart cards, and hybrid smart cards. Technology types include microprocessor smart cards, memory smart cards, biometric-enabled smart cards, and optical or other variants. Applications encompass national identification cards, e-passports, driver’s licenses, voter identification cards, healthcare and social security cards, subsidy or welfare distribution cards, and border control and immigration, while the major end-users are federal government, state and local government, public safety, and transportation.

The smart card in government market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as data security and encryption, authentication services, card lifecycle management, and consulting and training. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The smart card in government market includes sales of biometric scanners, authentication tokens, card issuance kiosks, and secure storage modules. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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