Density benchmarks, with their sources attached.
Almost every density figure in circulation is a design guide rather than a survey result, and almost none of them travel between markets. Both facts are on this page, next to each number.
United Kingdom
| Basis | Per person | Utilisation assumed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| General workspace design standard | 10 m²≈ 108 sq ft | 80% | BCO Guide to Specification, 2024 |
| Allowed range | 8 – 13 m² | 80% | BCO, per workstation NIA |
| With meeting, collaboration and support space | 11 – 15 m² | — | BCO, whole-floor basis |
| Effective density, hybrid working | ≈ 15 m² | 66% | BCO utilisation research, 2025 |
| High density — exceptional cases only | 8 m² | 80% | BCO, reclassified 2024 |
| Legal minimum — not a design target | ≈ 4.6 m² | — | Workplace Regs 1992, 11 m³ air at 2.4 m ceiling |
Hybrid teams in UK serviced and shared offices are now commonly planned at 60 to 70 desks per 100 staff.
Hong Kong
| Measure | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Area per desk | 50 – 60 sq ft | Roughly a third of a Western plan. Applying a UK or US figure here reads as not knowing the market. |
| Grade A efficiency | 65 – 75% | Older stock can fall to about 50% |
| Rent quoted | HKD / sq ft / month | Usually excluding management fee, government rates and service charges |
| Area bases in use | 3 | Gross, lettable and net. Each has an accepted definition; application between landlords is not consistent. |
Singapore
| Measure | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Area basis | NLA | Net lettable area is the quoting convention |
| Efficiency | 90 – 95% | Grade A around 90%. Far tighter than Hong Kong. |
| Rent quoted | SGD / sq ft / month | Often as a gross rent that already includes the service charge |
| Service charge | ≈ S$0.70 – 1.50 psf/mo | Covers property tax, air conditioning, common area maintenance, security, cleaning |
| Property tax | Landlord | Leases typically pass on increases during the term only, not the base charge |
United States
| Measure | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement standard | BOMA 2024 | ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2024 for office buildings, published 18 March 2024 |
| Area basis | Usable → rentable | Rentable area already carries a share of common space through the load factor |
| Property tax | Tenant, usually via CAM | Rather than billed directly as in the UK |
How to read all of this
These are planning guides, not measurements of what is happening. A design standard says how much space to provide; it says nothing about whether that space is used. Utilisation is a separate question and needs separate data.
They do not travel. Hong Kong at 50 to 60 sq ft per desk and the UK at roughly 108 sq ft per person are both normal in their own market. A benchmark from the wrong country is worse than no benchmark, which is why the allocation model shows none at all in custom mode.
Compare like with like. Every figure on this page is per person on a net internal basis unless stated. If your own figure includes common area, it will look more generous than it is.