Infographic: Size & Health of the UK Space Industry 2022
Updated 31 March 2023
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1. Size & Health of the UK Space Industry 2022
Total space industry income in 2020/21: £17.5bn
UK-based organisations with space-related activities: 1,590
Direct employees in 2020/21: 48,800
UK average labour productivity: 2.5x
Space Manufacturing: 12%
Space Operations: 9%
Space Applications: 75%
Ancillary Services: 4%
Income-growth (y-o-y): 5.1%
Employees are female: 1 in 4
R&D expenditure in 2020/21: £788m
Employees with a primary degree or higher: 3 in 4
1.1 Exports
Income from exports in 2020/21: £5.9bn
Northern America: 19%
Rest of Europe: 55%
Asia and Oceania: 12%
Other: 14%
1.2 Employment by region
London: 28%
South-East: 21%
Scotland: 18%
Other: 33%
1.3 INVESTMENT MONITOR
Investments into UK-headquartered space companies
2022
Total funds invested: £635m
Investment deals: 34
2012 - 2022
Total funds invested: £11.7bn
Investment deals: 293
GVA
Direct contribution of the UK space industry to UK GDP: £7.06bn
At least £370bn of UK GDP* is supported by satellite services:
- Earth Observation
- Meteorology
- Navigation
- Communications
3 in 5 Organisations expect income growth over the next three years
know.space (2023) Size & Health of the UK Space Industry 2022 Based on analysis of 1,590 UK-based space-related organisations. * UK non-financial business economy only.