Space Benefits for Earth: Understanding the remarkable value of Europe’s achievements in space [Dec/2024]
Prepared by ESA Space Economy team in support of ESA Ministerial Council 2025, the "Space Benefits for Earth" presentation highlights the benefits to the European economy and society of its Member States’ investment in space.
Space industry is a key driver of Europe’s economic and technological growth, providing significant benefits across multiple sectors. Supporting 11 of the 16 major critical infrastructures, space technologies enhance sectors such as transport, energy, food supply, health, and public safety. These technologies not only foster economic development but also boost employment, strengthen SME competitiveness, and improve European trade balance.
Space contributes to Europe’s economic growth and support high value-added jobs in European economies. In 2022, subscriptions to ESA programmes totaled €17 billion and are projected to contribute €22 billion to Europe’s GDP and generate €6 billion in tax revenues. These investments also support over 260,000 job-years, particularly in high value-added industries like scientific research and development, and manufacturing.
Furthermore, the European space sector drives innovation, especially within the SME sector. In recent years, SMEs have seen impressive growth, with over 33,000 employees in 2022, up from 21,000 in 2015. They generated over €4 billion in turnover, reflecting growth of more than 50% since 2015. The innovation competitiveness of these SMEs has tripled from 2015 to 2021, driven by intellectual property and other intangible assets. European space startups have also seen remarkable growth, raising nearly €1 billion in 2023, a significant increase from the €18 million raised in 2014. They now employ a total of over 8,500 people, making them the fastest-growing segment of the space industry.
In addition to economic growth and innovation, space infrastructure plays a key role in the European trade balance. Although Europe is the largest importer of space systems globally, its space infrastructure industry contributed an average annual trade surplus of nearly €1 billion over the period 2013-2022. This surplus comes primarily from spacecraft systems (59%), equipment and subsystems (28%), and launch services (13%), illustrating the competitive strength of the European space sector. These figures reflect how space infrastructure not only supports domestic growth but also enhances Europe’s position in the global market.
While the European space infrastructure brings substantial economic benefits, government investment remains the backbone of the sector. Public demand for European space infrastructure accounted for more than 70% of total demand in 2023, with ESA as the largest single customer (accounting for more than 40% of total final sales in 2023).
What makes space infrastructure particularly impactful is the exceptional economic and social return they yield compared to the relatively modest public investment. In 2023, Europe’s public space investment accounted to only 0.06% of GDP, significantly lower than the 0.26% in the United States and 0.17% in Russia. With European public funding limited to only €12 per citizen annually, space technologies deliver substantial economic benefits, driving growth, supporting jobs, fostering innovation, and strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and global competitiveness.
The presentation is available here.
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