The Role of Space Technology and Downstream Geospatial Applications in Driving Economic Prosperity and Human Well-Being in the Global South

Funmilola A. Oluwafemi; Ropo A. Olubiyi; Olajumoke Akinola; Oluwafemi A. Adeleke; Adamson Oloyede; Christopher Achem; Sultan K. Abdulazeez; Marvellous M. Oluwafemi; Busayo O. Adebayo; Precious T. Oluwafemi

doi:10.53941/gssd.2026.100021

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive narrative review evaluating the macroeconomic impact of space science, technology, and downstream applications within the Global South, bridging literature published between 1999 and 2026. While space exploration is historically framed as an industrialised luxury, this paper establishes a structural causal framework tracing how upstream orbital investments drive down-to-earth economic resilience, resource sovereignty, and sustainable development across emerging economies. Technical datasets and case studies are synthesised across ten distinct downstream domains, spanning satellite telecommunications, tele-epidemiology, precision agriculture, maritime security, and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The findings quantify the tangible multipliers of space assets: the integration of Earth Observation (EO) data and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) models automates post-disaster structural damage mapping with F1-scores up to 0.85, detects illegal transboundary logging with over 92% accuracy, and drives variable-rate agricultural arrays that reduce synthetic pesticide inputs by 40% while boosting regional crop yields by 18%. Additionally, empirical data shows that space-enabled fleet tracking and geofencing reduce commercial transit downtime by up to 25% and mitigate cargo theft by over 40% along vulnerable transport corridors. By explicitly mapping these applications to primary and secondary United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this review demonstrates that independent space architecture is a prerequisite for moving away from asymmetrical data dependencies, anchoring local value capture, and securing long-term macroeconomic prosperity across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

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