By 2016, the global market for RFID will reach $26.23 Billion according to research firm IDTechEx. That is compared with a market size of $2.71Billion projected for this year, 2006.

IDTechEx's projections cover all uses of RFID worldwide, including contactless payment systems, passports, supply chain, smart cards and more. The projections also include systems and services, in addition to tags and the technology itself.

IDTechEx notes:

As to number of tags delivered, IDTechEx says it will be more than 585 Billion by 2016.

Over the past year there have been numerous projections of the size of the RFID market. It can be confusing because the reports tend to be reported individually, but if you look at them lined up in a row you see lots of inconsistencies.

The trick, I've found, is to carefully understand what the report is measuring. Here is my quick little primer for interpreting what seem to be conflicting research reports:

• First examine what part of the world the report covers. Is it Europe, China, North America? Or is it a global projection? Often you will see projections that are limited to North America, but being reported as if they cover all areas.
• Second, determine the definition of RFID being used. Some research firms limit their analysis to what their clients are involved in. For instance, some reports focus on passive RFID in retail and supply chain applications. Other reports include ALL uses of RFID.
• Third, what time frame are they measuring? Five years? Ten years?
• Fourth, are they reporting in Dollars, Euros, Yuan -- or something else. Some reports I see now are focusing on volumes of tags produced or sold, and not so much on monetary value.