Number of space rocket launches by country 2025
This page ranks countries by orbital launch attempts in calendar year 2025 and explains what the numbers mean in practice: how “country” is assigned, why totals differ across trackers, and what 2025 tells us about launch capacity, cadence, and reliability.
Global overview: 2025 became the busiest orbital-launch year on record
In the full calendar year 2025, the world recorded 329 orbital launch attempts, with 321 reaching orbit or marginal orbit. The jump was driven by a higher commercial cadence (especially large satellite-constellation deployment) and continued scaling of reusable launch operations.
The distribution remained highly concentrated: the United States led by a wide margin, China remained a clear second, and a second tier (Russia, New Zealand, Europe, India, Japan) filled out the remainder. Smaller launch nations appeared mainly as one-off orbital attempts or early-stage programs.
Orbital launch attempts in 2025 (Earth-origin), across all operators.
Launches that reached orbit or marginal orbit (2025).
About 55% of all attempts (includes multiple vehicle families).
Roughly 28% of all attempts, sustained by state and commercial launchers.
A high count for a small nation, reflecting Electron operations from Māhia and country-assignment rules (explained below).
Launch attempts by country (Top group), 2025
The chart uses the same country assignment as the table in Part 2 (rocket/launch-system origin). Some trackers assign Electron (Māhia, NZ) under the United States; that alternative produces different country totals.
| Rank | Country / grouping | Attempts (2025) | Share of world |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 181 | 55.0% |
| 2 | China | 92 | 28.0% |
| 3 | Russia | 17 | 5.2% |
| 4 | New Zealand | 17 | 5.2% |
| 5 | Europe (ESA/Arianespace & partners) | 8 | 2.4% |
| 6 | India | 5 | 1.5% |
| 7 | Japan | 4 | 1.2% |
| 8 | Other | 31 | 9.4% |
Full ranking: orbital launch attempts by country (2025)
The table below shows attempts, how many reached orbit (including marginal orbit), and how many did not reach orbit (failures or near-orbital attempts that fell short). Shares are computed against the global total of 329 attempts in 2025.
Table 1. Orbital launches by country (attempts vs. to-orbit), 2025
“Europe” is a practical grouping for ESA/Arianespace and related European launch activity. “Other” aggregates additional countries/vehicles not listed separately in this summary.
| Rank | Country / grouping | Attempts | To orbit | Not to orbit | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 181 | 179 | 2 | 55.0% |
| 2 | China | 92 | 91 | 1 | 28.0% |
| 3 | Russia | 17 | 17 | 0 | 5.2% |
| 4 | New Zealand | 17 | 17 | 0 | 5.2% |
| 5 | Europe (ESA/Arianespace & partners) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2.4% |
| 6 | India | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.5% |
| 7 | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.2% |
| 8 | South Korea | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.6% |
| 9 | Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.3% |
| 10 | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3% |
| 11 | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Other | 31 | 27 | 4 | 9.4% |
| — | World | 329 | 321 | 8 | 100% |
Note: totals can differ across trackers due to definitional choices (e.g., whether near-orbital attempts are included, how “country” is assigned for multinational systems, and how launches are counted when multiple payloads share one vehicle).
Reliability view: attempts vs. not-to-orbit (selected launch nations), 2025
A simple way to interpret capacity is to separate “how many tries” from “how many made it to orbit”. For high-cadence systems, even a small number of not-to-orbit outcomes can still be meaningful in absolute terms.
Interpretation tip: “Not to orbit” includes both outright failures and near-orbital attempts that fell short under the source methodology, not only classic launch-pad or ascent failures.
Methodology
This ranking counts orbital launch attempts in the calendar year 2025. A launch attempt is counted as orbital if it is intended to achieve a positive perigee (reach Earth orbit or beyond). Launches from the Moon are excluded.
Why different websites show different totals:
- What “counts” as orbital: some trackers exclude near-orbital tests; others include them as attempts.
- Country assignment: this page assigns launches to a country based on the launch system/rocket context used by the primary source.
- Multinational reality: manufacturing, licensing, and launch sites can span countries (example: Electron operations from Māhia).
For transparency, we also show “to orbit” vs “not to orbit” using the same source methodology. Shares are computed against the world total of 329 attempts.
Insights from 2025 (what the ranking really tells us)
The core story of 2025 is not just “more launches” — it is the emergence of a two-speed launch economy. One group operates at industrial cadence (weekly or faster), while the rest of the world remains in single digits or low tens.
- Cadence concentration: the United States and China together account for roughly 83% of all orbital attempts in 2025. That is a structural change compared with earlier decades where totals were spread more evenly.
- New Zealand’s high count is methodological + operational: a large share reflects Electron flights from Māhia and how the primary source assigns country. In practice, it signals that a small country can become a major launch venue when it hosts a high-frequency provider.
- Europe’s rebound is gradual: the count remains far below U.S./China levels, and a single slip in schedule can materially shift annual totals.
- Reliability is best read with context: “not to orbit” outcomes include both classic failures and near-orbital attempts included by the source’s definition. For high-volume operators, small absolute counts can still matter for risk management and insurance pricing.
What this means for the reader
If you follow space activity as an indicator of technological capacity, launches are a useful proxy — but only when you read them as a system metric, not a “national prestige scoreboard”.
Use the ranking to answer practical questions:
- Capacity: who can launch frequently enough to support large constellations and rapid replacement cycles?
- Resilience: who has multiple pads, vehicles, and supply chains — and who is single-point-of-failure?
- Market structure: how quickly is commercial cadence outpacing institutional cadence?
- Geopolitics: which countries can sustain independent access to orbit vs. relying on partners?
For investors, engineers, and policy readers, the biggest signal in 2025 is that launch is increasingly an operational discipline: availability, turnaround, and supply-chain throughput matter as much as headline payload capacity.
FAQ
What exactly is an “orbital launch attempt”?
It is any launch that tries to place a payload into Earth orbit (or beyond). Attempts that fall short may still be counted as attempts, depending on the source’s definition, which is why “attempts” and “to orbit” are shown separately.
Why do totals differ between trackers for the same year?
Different trackers make different choices about (1) counting near-orbital tests, (2) assigning a “country” to multinational systems, and (3) classifying borderline outcomes (marginal orbit vs. failure). This page follows the primary source listed below and explains the key choices.
Is “Europe” a country in this ranking?
No — it’s a practical grouping for European launch activity (ESA/Arianespace and partners). Some datasets split by specific member states, while others group. The goal here is to keep the yearly comparison readable and consistent with the primary source.
Why is New Zealand so high in 2025?
Because it hosted a high cadence of Electron launches from Māhia, and the primary source assigns those launches under New Zealand in 2025 tables. Other trackers assign them under the United States. Both views are defensible; the important point is that a single high-frequency provider can move a country sharply up the ranking.
Does “not to orbit” mean a catastrophic failure?
Not always. It can include classic ascent failures, but it may also include near-orbital attempts counted as attempts under the source methodology. That’s why the table separates attempts from “to orbit” outcomes.
Primary sources
Sources are listed in the order used for the 2025 totals and definitions. Links are clickable.
-
Jonathan McDowell — Space Activities in 2025 (full-year launch statistics)Definitive yearly compilation used for the totals, country assignment notes, and “to orbit” vs “attempts” split.
https://planet4589.org/space/papers/space25.pdf -
Jonathan’s Space Pages — Launch statistics (context & supporting tables)Summary pages that track record highs and historical comparisons.
https://planet4589.org/space/stats/launches.html -
Payload — 2025 orbital launch attempts by country (reporting based on McDowell data)Additional narrative context around the same compiled dataset.
https://payloadspace.com/2025-orbital-launch-attempts-by-country/ -
Space.com — SpaceX 2025 cadence references (context on the dominant provider)Useful for provider-level context (e.g., yearly launch cadence milestones).
https://www.space.com/ -
UNOOSA — Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space (registry context)Registry reference for launched objects; not a real-time launch counter, but important for official registration context.
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/spaceobjectregister/index.html
Technical note: the yearly totals shown here are best interpreted as analytical counts compiled from multiple orbital catalogs and registries. For mission-by-mission verification, consult the primary compilation and its referenced catalogs.
Download: tables & chart images (ZIP)
Download the dataset tables (CSV/JSON) and the chart images (PNG) used on this page.
