Spacecraft and space transport exports: €1.340 billion

In 2022, EU exports of spacecraft and space transport services totalled €1.34 billion after experiencing a 36% drop compared with 2021 (€2.108bn). In 2022, 84% of all exports, or €1.129bn, went to countries outside the EU.

The EU exports peaked in 2012, at €3.273bn, and declined until they fell to €1.913bn in 2016. A sharp recovery occurred in 2017, with exports rising to €2.961bn, before significant drops occurred, notably in 2020, when exports fell to €1.562bn due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Source dataset: data on the European space economy
(based on FIGARO balanced view of international trade)

EU imports of spacecraft and space transport services amounted to €1.274bn in 2022, a 33% decline compared with 2021 (€1.902bn). Most of the imports, 83%, or €1.063bn, came from countries outside the EU. 

Imports peaked in 2015, at €2 978 million, and again in 2017, at €2 708 million. However, a significant decline followed in the subsequent years, bringing imports down to € 1 479 million in 2019. Subsequent developments included a short period of recovery, with imports rising to €1 902 million in 2021.

Click to enlarge

Source dataset: data on the European space economy
(based on FIGARO balanced view of international trade)

For more information

• Experimental statistics on the European space economy thematic account
• Thematic section on European system of accounts supply, use and input-output tables

Methodological notes

• This article is based on data on the EU space economy released by Eurostat in cooperation with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS), and the European Space Agency (ESA), as part of experimental statistics.
• Import and export figures are based on the balanced view of trade of Full international and global accounts for research in input-output analysis (FIGARO). Differences may exist with national import and/or export data given that the FIGARO balanced view of trade aims to solve asymmetries between bilateral trade flows.
• Results refer to the spacecraft (including satellites) and their launch vehicles, and to the space transport services of passengers and freight, corresponding to the statistical codes 30.30.40, 51.22.11 and 51.22.12 from the classification of products by activity (CPA), equivalent to the statistical codes 880260, 996427 and 996532 from the Harmonized System (HS) classification. 

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