Corporate report

Infographic: Size & Health of the UK Space Industry 2022

Updated 31 March 2023

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.