Global Space Economy Hit €600 Billion in 2025 as Private Investment Surged 60 Percent, ESA Report Shows
Featured image: ESA Space Economy Report 2026 cover graphic; credit: ESA
By Clark
The global space economy reached approximately €600 billion in 2025, driven by a record surge in private investment and accelerating growth in Europe’s public space spending, according to the European Space Agency’s 2026 Space Economy Report released July 14.
Private investment in space companies hit €11.7 billion globally, a 60 percent increase over 2024 and the highest annual total on record, surpassing even the 2021 SPAC boom peak. The surge was concentrated in the United States, which recorded a 177 percent increase, while Europe saw a modest 8 percent decline to €1.4 billion, still the second-highest annual total on the continent.
The report, which draws on data from the OECD, Eurostat, Novaspace, Eurospace, the European Space Policy Institute, and EUSPA, provides a comprehensive snapshot of an industry that is outpacing global economic growth by a wide margin.
Public Investment Trends
Global public investment in space reached €119 billion, a 3 percent decline from 2024 that ended a streak of double-digit growth. The United States remains the dominant player at 58 percent of global public spending, with a defense space budget of €46 billion growing at a 12 percent compound annual rate over five years.
For the first sustained period, defense now accounts for 53 percent of global space budgets, exceeding civil spending. The US Golden Dome missile defense initiative, approved at an estimated cost of roughly $24 billion initially with total program estimates ranging from $185 billion to $1.2 trillion, is a major driver. Europe is following suit: Germany announced a €35 billion investment plan for space security and defense through 2030, while France added €4.2 billion in military space investment for 2026 to 2040.
China’s public investment stood at 15 percent of the global total, though the report cautions that figures are likely underestimated due to purchasing power parity and limited data availability.
Europe’s Growing Share
European public space investment grew 12 percent in 2025 to reach €13.5 billion, the first double-digit growth in five years, lifting Europe’s share of global public spending from 10 to 11 percent. Unlike the global picture, 84 percent of Europe’s space budget remains civil, reflecting the continent’s traditional institutional model.
European prime contractors captured 10 percent of the global upstream market, accounting for 65 percent of the market accessible to European launchers. The downstream market, dominated by satellite navigation services at 77 percent, remains Europe’s largest space sector by revenue. Satellite communications account for 22 percent, led by broadband services including Starlink, which reached 2 million subscribers in Europe by the end of 2025. Earth observation represents 1 percent.
The European upstream space industry employed approximately 68,000 people in 2025, a 2 percent increase, with upstream sales reaching €10.9 billion.
Launch and Satellite Activity
A record 324 orbital launches took place in 2025, a 25 percent increase over 2024, of which 122 were self-provisioned Starlink missions. A total of 4,556 satellites were launched, up 58 percent, with a combined mass of 2,730 tons, up 31 percent. The upstream market, covering manufacturing and launch services, reached €75 billion, a 20 percent increase.
The Big Picture
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher has described the space economy as one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, with a 10 percent annual growth rate and projections pointing toward €1.8 trillion in the coming decades. A key finding of the report is the growing importance of dual-use technology: space systems that serve both civil and defense purposes, which ESA is increasingly structuring its programs to accommodate.
“If you invest one euro in space, we estimated about five to seven euros come back into the economy,” Aschbacher said in a recent interview, citing ESA’s economic multiplier analysis.
The 2026 Space Economy Report is the latest edition in ESA’s annual series aimed at helping policymakers, industry, and stakeholders track the status and trajectory of the global space sector.
Source: 1ban.news – Space Desk