Eurostat and the JRC are working on the experimental thematic accounts for the European space economy.
The European space economy is re-attracting interest due to its growing role in modern societies. Space technologies enable the monitoring of natural disasters, the improvement of security and defence protection measures, and the development of high-level digital and communication systems.
In addition, the number of countries and enterprises involved in space activities is rising. Yet, high-quality macroeconomic statistics on the importance of the space sector for the European economy are missing so far.
For this reason, the thematic accounts aim to address this knowledge gap by providing consolidated statistics on the main gross domestic product (GDP), employment and environmental indicators for the space economy.
The thematic accounts, linked to the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008), aim to expand the scope of national accounts and specifically cover the space sector. This approach allows the capture of direct, indirect and induced contributions of the space economy, using the SNA supply and use framework.
