In 2023, EU exports of spacecraft and space transport services amounted to €2 205 million, while EU imports of these products reached €628 million. These figures are derived from the FIGARO balanced view of international trade.
EU exports of these manufactured products and transport services to non-EU countries peaked at €3 718 million in 2012 before declining to €1 513 million by 2016. Exports recovered in 2017, rising to €2 277 million. However, between 2019 and 2021, there was a significant decline largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a low of €1 352 million in 2020. In 2022, exports rebounded to €2 547 million, their highest level since 2012.
On the other hand, EU imports from outside the EU reached their highest values in 2015 at €1 715 million and again in 2017 at €1 816 million. Imports also declined between 2019 and 2021, followed by a partial recovery in 2022.
Intra-EU trade stood at €55 million in 2023, its lowest level since 2010 (€1 153 million).
Source dataset: Special extraction based on FIGARO’s balanced view of international trade
Concerning spacecraft alone, EU exports peaked at €2 356 million in 2012, reaching €1 726 million in 2023. In contrast, EU imports were highest between 2015 and 2018, with figures ranging from €588 to €714 million, but fell to just €194 million in 2023.
Intra-EU trade in spacecraft grew from €746 million in 2010 to €1 197 million in 2012, before entering a prolonged decline that brought it down to just €22 million in 2023.
These results contrast with the EU spacecraft production, which rose from €4 500 million in 2010 to €6 000 million between 2016 and 2019, before falling to €3 000 million in 2023.
Source dataset: Special extraction based on FIGARO’s balanced view of international trade and Prodcom data
This article coincides with the 18th European Space Conference, scheduled to take place in Brussels on 27 and 28 January 2026.
