The Space Economy at a Glance 2026

As space activities expand and become embedded in everyday economic and public-service functions, governments need better evidence to understand their benefits, risks and policy implications. The Space Economy at a Glance 2026 provides a compact and comparative assessment of recent developments across the space economy. Space systems support communications, positioning and timing, earth observation, weather monitoring, disaster response, transport, agriculture, finance, science, security and a growing range of commercial services. Drawing on OECD indicators and policy analysis, the report examines the public and private forces shaping this transformation, including government space budgets, civil space R&D, private finance, entrepreneurship, scientific and technological capabilities, market dynamics, satellite-enabled applications and emerging approaches to measuring the economic footprint of space activities. It shows how governments remain central to market creation and strategic capability-building, even as commercial actors increasingly operate and shape orbital activity. The report also highlights the policy challenges associated with expanding space use, including orbital congestion, debris, market concentration, supply-chain dependencies, access to essential data and signals, and the resilience of space infrastructure. The report supports governments in designing innovative, competitive, secure and responsible space ecosystems that deliver broad public value for economies and societies.