Earth observation can unlock additional $263 bn annually for global economy: WEF

Earth observation (EO) technologies, including satellite imagery, remote sensing and geospatial intelligence, could unlock an additional $263 billion in annual economic value globally if governments and businesses accelerate adoption and better integrate Earth-derived insights into decision-making, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Deloitte.

The report, Earth Observation: Unlocking the $700 Billion Opportunity, estimates that EO currently contributes around $440 billion to global gross domestic product (GDP), but its total annual economic potential stands at $703 billion.

"Earth observation increasingly defines how economies grow, how institutions manage risk and how societies build resilience," the report said.

The study found that more than 37% of EO's economic opportunity remains unrealised, not because the technology is unavailable, but because insights are often not embedded into the systems where decisions are made.

"Realizing them depends not on new science or unproven technology, but on closing the gap between what EO can observe and what organizations can use to act," the report noted.

Processing remains the biggest bottleneck

According to the report, the unrealised opportunity is distributed across three key areas: acquisition of Earth observation data ($84 billion), processing of data into decision-ready products ($117 billion), and deployment of those insights into operational workflows ($62 billion).

Processing accounts for the largest share of the untapped value, reflecting the challenge of converting vast amounts of satellite data into actionable intelligence that businesses and governments can use with confidence.

Stephan Mergenthaler, managing director and chief technology officer at the World Economic Forum, and Jennifer Steinmann, global sustainability business leader at Deloitte, said the next phase of growth would depend on making EO insights more accessible and usable.

"We can already see much of what matters on Earth through EO technologies. The challenge now is to help ensure those insights are usable, trusted and acted upon at the speed and scale that today's realities may demand," they wrote in the foreword.

Agriculture emerges as biggest opportunity

Among all use cases, precision agriculture represents the largest untapped opportunity, accounting for $136.7 billion in annual value. Risk and vulnerability analysis, covering insurance, finance and infrastructure monitoring, follows with a $47.6 billion opportunity, while site selection for mines, solar parks, logistics hubs and housing projects represents another $47.4 billion.

The report said agriculture could account for more than half of EO's total economic value by 2030, with 85% of that contribution expected to come from productivity-enhancing precision agriculture.

Other significant applications include supply-chain monitoring, route optimisation, post-disaster assessment and early-warning systems for floods, wildfires and extreme weather events.

India example highlights climate resilience

The report also cited an India-linked example involving German space technology company constellr.

According to the study, thermal intelligence generated through satellite observations informed planning decisions in a development near Jaipur, helping reduce temperatures by 7 degrees Celsius over a nine-year period compared with a nearby established residential area.

The project was highlighted as an example of how Earth observation data can support climate-resilient urban planning, optimise resource use and mitigate the effects of rising urban temperatures.

Shift from data to decisions

The report argues that the future of Earth observation lies in combining satellite data with artificial intelligence, automation and enterprise software systems.

Rather than relying on specialists to manually interpret imagery, future EO platforms are expected to automatically detect risks, monitor infrastructure, assess crop health, identify environmental violations and generate real-time alerts for decision-makers.

"The value of Earth observation is increasingly defined by how quickly and reliably it can be turned into operational intelligence for real-world decision-making, from resilience and disaster response to security and critical infrastructure," said Rafal Modrzewski, co-founder and chief executive officer of satellite imaging company ICEYE.

Bruno Sánchez-Andrade Nuño, executive director of Clay.foundation, said the sector was undergoing a fundamental transformation.

"A fundamental shift in how we approach Earth observation data is not just possible, but essential, as we move from pixel math and widgets to frictionless semantic navigation," he said.

Summing up the broader trend, the report said: "A deep shift is under way: from an EO economy organized around data to one organized around consequence."

According to the WEF, the next phase of growth will be measured not by how much of the Earth can be observed, but by how effectively those observations influence decisions and outcomes.