UAE space sector spending rose 27.1% to Dh5.52 billion, survey finds
The UAE Space Agency's 2025 Space Economic Survey, covering 2024, shows private companies made up 48% of spending and Emirati jobs in the sector rose by 27.9%.
Total spending in the UAE's space economy rose 27.1% to Dh5.52 billion in 2024, according to the 2025 Space Economic Survey released this week by the UAE Space Agency and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre at a workshop in Dubai.
Commercial companies accounted for Dh2.64 billion, or 48%, of that spending. The number of Emiratis working in the sector rose 27.9% to 1,495, staff aged 15 to 35 reached 1,333, and women made up 33.5% of the workforce after female employment grew 83.9%. Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, said value added in the sector was growing more than twice as fast as spending.
The figures feed into the National Space Strategy 2031, which aims to place the UAE among the world's ten largest space economies and to double the sector's revenues. For graduates and job seekers, the survey points to a sector that is hiring young Emiratis and women at a fast rate; for companies, the agency says its priority is attracting investment and helping UAE-based firms compete abroad. No new programme or deadline was announced with the survey.