The Space Economy at a Glance 2007

Space applications are becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life. Weather forecasting, air traffic control, global communications and broadcasting, disaster management, and many other key activities would be almost unthinkable today without satellite technology. While the space industry itself is relatively small compared with other manufacturing sectors, its technological dynamism and strategic significance mean that it plays an ever more critical role in modern society. Who are the main spacefaring nations? How large are revenues and how much employment is there in the sector? How much R& D goes on, and where? What is the value of spin-offs from space spending? The Space Economy at a Glance offers concise, up-to-date answers to these key questions. This first-ever OECD statistical overview of the emerging space economy paints a richly detailed picture of the space industry, its downstream services activities, and its wider economic and social impacts.