The OECD publishes the 2nd Edition of its flagship publication "The Space Economy in Figures"

The OECD publishes the 2nd Edition of its flagship publication "The Space Economy in Figures" [Mar/2024]

The new edition of “The Space Economy in Figures: Responding to Global Challenges” was published on 15 December 2023 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The report provides analysis based on internationally comparable data, with the objective to provide a comprehensive and coherent picture of the space economy. 

The work also focuses on the actions that should be implemented by governments across OECD countries to improve and further develop their space-based systems, which today support critical infrastructures and services (such as transportation, energy, food supply or law enforcement).

One of the key messages is the significant increase in space activities worldwide. The number of operational satellites in orbit doubled from 2020 to 2022, with over two-thirds of satellites coming from commercial operators. The report shows how this growth is strongly linked to the access to reusable launch technologies, smaller satellites, and increased competition, resulting in operational cost reduction.

Although these phenomena are described as positively contributing to the integration of space in the broader society and economy across OECD countries, there are still numerous challenges to address in the development of space activities. For instance targeted policy intervention is recommended to better regulate access to space and its resources, to ensure a fair and broad distribution of the benefits of space technologies across countries.

Finally, the need to tackle the issue of space debris with joint public-private action is highlighted in order to both better track and remove the debris in orbit.

The publication can be found here (please log-in to access the document).

More information about the work of the OECD Space Forum can be found here.


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