Frost & Sullivan found that increasing crime rates and terrorism have helped speed up the adoption of biometrics, particularly in the government vertical in the Asia-Pacific region.

In its new study “An Analysis of the Biometrics Market in the Government Vertical in Asia-Pacific,” Frost & Sullivan says that in 2011 the market had revenues in the $500 million range and it is expected to grow at a 12.6% compound annual growth rate through 2016.

This region will continue to see growth due to the fact that many countries are still emerging economies that are building infrastructure and need to enhance that with strong national identification systems and border security. Frost & Sullivan expects this region to grow faster than the rest of the world.

While tight budgets may pose barriers to biometric adoption, Frost & Sullivan says that integrated biometric functions and multiple authentication offerings may have an advantage in speeding the adoption process.