More investments for Defense and from private individuals; the demand for commercial launches and connectivity and security services is also increasing
Space and its economy are now an integral part of our daily lives: we use them to support servicesfrom the technologies and of safety that people and businesses around the world rely on. Information, transactions, essential communications, dissemination of content, scientific research and environmental controls pass through space.
As space usage increases, so does the need for robust, reliable and independent orbiting and computing systems. Today we are witnessing a transition from a space economy driven exclusively by government bodies to a sector dominated by private and global operators, and rapid growth in commercial financing, in a sector that integrates advanced technologies such as robotics, quantum computers and the analysis of Big Data generated by satellites.
The main investments in the space economy
Most of the economic value does not derive only from launches (in jargon defined upstream), but also from practical applications on Earth, such as precision agriculture, climate monitoring and security. The new European Space Agency Space Economy Report (ESA) photographs the latest developments that are shaping the European space sector. It is a read that helps policymakers, industries and investors to better understand the state and trends of the space industry both globally and in Europe.
And, precisely in the Old Continent, the report analyzes budgets, industrial competitiveness, market accessibility and demand conditions as part of global developments in the space sector, providing us with an overview of the key indicators that directly influence it. We read that European space budgets grew by 12% in 2025reaching 13.5 billion euros, a double-digit growth rate for the first time in the last five years, mainly thanks to the increase in national defense spending, led by Germany.
Sectoral growth in Europe
On a global level, however, Governments around the world have invested 119 billion euros in space contractsa figure down 3% compared to the previous year, a decline mainly due to changes to the US defense budget and the maintenance of funding for NASA. The market for space vehicle production and service supplies (launch carriers) is worth 75 billion euros, with 80% of institutional demand now dominated by the Defense sector.
Major European contractors have regained market share, reaching 10% globally and 65% of the accessible market. The commercial market, estimated to be around 490 billion euros in 2025, includes the markets for satellite communications, Earth observation and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which represent 77%. Of this, 19% of global demand comes from Europe. Satellite data, signals and services continue to be increasingly integrated into the overall digital economy.
All the numbers of the space economy
Private investment in the space sector increased by 60% globally, led by a 177% increase in the United States. Over the same period, European space initiatives raised €1.4 billion in private investment, down 8% from 2024, but still recording the second-highest annual total ever. They have been recorded strong variations between various countrieswith stable growth in China (+5.0% in both 2024 and 2025), a slight improvement in the euro area (+1.4% in 2025 compared to +0.9% in 2024), and a slowdown in the United States (+2.1% in 2025 compared to +2.8% in 2024) and Russia (+1% in 2025 compared to +4.9% in 2024).
