Portugal’s space sector added €1.2bn to GDP in six years

Portugal’s space sector contributed €1.2 billion to national GDP between 2019 and 2024, while generating €2.4 billion for the wider economy, according to a socioeconomic study by Novaspace for the Portuguese Space Agency.

The study says the sector supported an average of 4,500 jobs a year over the six-year period and delivered average annual tax revenues of €290 million to the state. It covered more than 156 companies and institutions, whose activities produced more than €1.1 billion in direct economic output, €559 million in direct gross value added and about 2,162 direct jobs a year. Overall, the sector accounted for around 0.1% of Portugal’s GDP over the period.

Novaspace also found that space-related activity generated €729 million in indirect output through supply chains, alongside €350 million in indirect gross value added and roughly 1,350 jobs a year. Household spending by direct and indirect workers added a further €548 million in induced output, €305 million in induced gross value added and about 935 jobs a year. For every euro directly added to GDP by space activities, another €1.17 was generated through supply chains and household spending, the study said.

The report points to rising public investment since Portugal adopted its Space 2030 strategy in 2018 and created the Portuguese Space Agency in 2019. Funding rose from €55 million in 2018 to €135 million in 2024, excluding defence-related spending. It also said Portugal had reached a 102% industrial geo-return from the European Space Agency at the start of 2025, with Portuguese companies securing more than €110 million in industrial contracts between 2019 and 2025.

By 2024, the sector included more than 150 entities, with more than 80 active companies, mainly clustered in Lisbon, Coimbra and the Porto region. The study said Portugal’s strengths include launch capacity in the Azores, an established space law framework and a strong supply of aerospace engineers, but it also flagged difficulties in retaining talent, a lack of anchor industrial operators, limited national budgets and challenges in accessing private funding.

Originally published at Eco.pt