4.01.2025

Only Russia and the USA invest more of their GDP in space exploration

SES headquarters in Betzdorf © Photo credit: Anouk Anthony

Luxembourg is the European country which invests the most in space exploration efforts, according to data from the continent’s space agency.
The Grand Duchy invested just over 0.13% of GDP in space exploration in 2023, according to the European Space Agency’s December 2024 space economy report.
Luxembourg came out on top for investment levels among the agency’s 22 member countries, which vary widely. France is the second-highest investor on the continent, followed by Italy and Belgium.
On average Europe invests 0.06% of its GDP into the space sector, through public and private channels.

Luxembourg’s space investment as measured as a percentage of total government spending represents an even bigger 0.281% - a metric where it also leads the curve ahead of the average 0.12% government spend across ESA member states.

Globally, Luxembourg’s investment in space is third, behind the USA (0.262% of GDP) and Russia (0.169%).

Europe has a combined 11% share of the global space industry and its spending remained almost stable (+1%) between 2022 and 2023. Global spending on space increased 11% in the same year, however.

While public spending has been stable or increasing, private investment has fallen in the past three years, both in Europe and internationally. Military spending on space in 2023 exceeded civilian space budgets globally for the first time in the 21st century.

Space is among the priority sectors for Luxembourg’s coalition government. “The space economy is the full range of activities and the use of resources that create value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, researching, understanding, managing, and utilising space,” the ESA report explains.

Quelle: Luxembourg Times