ESA releases 2026 Space Economy Report

ESA uses this report to help policymakers, industry and stakeholders better understand the status and trends of the space industry, globally and in Europe specifically.

With Europe in focus, the report covers European budgets, industrial competitiveness, market accessibility, and demand conditions within global space-sector developments.

The report provides an overview of the macroeconomic landscape in which the space sector operates and core indicators which directly affect the industry.

It also covers key trends and figures of the space sector in 2025, including public and private investment in space, space activity in terms of launches, mass launched, satellites launched, and the space industry’s revenues both upstream and downstream. This year a specific focus on defence investments development has also been added as global space budgets have undergone a structural shift due to an increase in defence spending at a global level.

Governments around the world made a global public investment of €119 billion in 2025 with a slight 3% decline from 2024, driven by US defence budget changes and flat NASA funding, while European space budgets grew by 12% to €13.5 billion, a double-digit growth rate for the first time in the past five years, mainly due to increased national defence spending led by Germany.

The upstream market focusing on the spacecraft manufacturing and launch service provision segments is valued at €75 billion with 80% institutional demand now dominated by defence. European prime contractors regained market share capturing 10% globally, and 65% of their accessible market.

The downstream market valued at approximately €490 billion in 2025 is largely commercial. It comprises satellite communications, Earth observation and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-related markets. GNSS services dominate, accounting for 77% of the market with 19% of the global demand for downstream products and services originating from Europe. Satellite data, signals and services continue to be increasingly embedded in the wider digital economy.

Private investment in space surged 60% globally, fuelled by a 177% rise in US activity. Over the same time frame European space ventures raised €1.4 billion of private investment, an 8% drop from 2024, still posting the second-highest annual total on record.

Elevating the future of Europe

Space is now part of everyday life, supporting the services, technologies and security that people and businesses across Europe rely on. As Europe makes greater use of space, it needs strong, reliable and independent space systems, backed by the skills, investment and industry needed to build and maintain them. ESA helps make this possible by working with European industry to grow and strengthen Europe’s capabilities and ensure that space continues to deliver benefits for people, businesses and society.

Read ESA’s Space Economy Report

Click here to download the Space Economy Report (.PDF).

The report is based on a selected and carefully reviewed set of data from multiple sources including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Eurostat and other space/economic data providers, notably Eurospace, Novaspace and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).

Visit ESA’s Space Economy pages for further information on how ESA analyses data on the space sector.