The civil aerospace markets

The aerospace sector is an important source of manufacturing employment in the OECD area. It is historically linked to defence programmes; and civil and military aerospace products and services are often provided by the same major industrial groups. The sector is expected to grow significantly in the next decade, as mobility in general and air traffic in particular is expected to increase, especially in emerging economies. There are several aerospace markets, which are often quite distinct from each other, although they all share the same basic need for sustained research and development. The space sector represents a rather small segment of the industry, as indicated by large aerospace industry associations. The data usually take into account space manufacturing activities, and overlook other space-related activities that are taking place outside the aerospace industry (e.g. commercial satellite telecommunications operators).