Reenvisioning Expansion: Economy at Low Altitude Ascends
Exploring New Horizons: The Low-Altitude Economy Takes Flight
TroibNews 
The 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is scheduled to occur from January 20 to 24 in Davos, Switzerland, with one of its key themes being the reimagining of growth. A significant area of focus will be the low-altitude economy, which is emerging as a new source of growth for the global economic landscape.
The low-altitude economy encompasses both crewed and uncrewed aerial activities operating below 1,000 meters, with the possibility of extending this range to 3,000 meters based on regional and practical needs. This sector includes a variety of applications in consumer markets, public services, transportation, logistics, and long-distance operations.
From 2021 to 2023, several countries, including the U.S. and the UK, initiated trials for flying taxis. Additionally, Amazon launched its Prime Air drone delivery service, making it available to real customers in select areas of the U.S. In a significant development for 2024, China issued the first production license globally for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
In 2023, the global market for the low-altitude economy was valued at 2.08 trillion yuan and is anticipated to grow to 2.32 trillion yuan in 2024. Within this, the Chinese market reached 505.95 billion yuan in 2023, reflecting a year-on-year growth rate of 33.8 percent, and is projected to soar to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
China is at the forefront of critical advancements in the low-altitude economy, excelling in areas like unmanned aerial vehicle research and development, equipment manufacturing, and next-generation communication technologies. The number of patent applications pertaining to the low-altitude economy in China surged from 852 in 2014 to an impressive 14,134 by 2023.
As of November 2024, China boasted 744 general aviation enterprises, 3,226 registered general aviation aircraft, and 470 general airports. The country is home to 19,000 enterprises involved in UAV operations and has registered 2.158 million UAVs. In 2023, the industrial scale of eVTOL aircraft in China reached 980 million yuan, marking a 77.3 percent increase from the previous year, with projections estimating it will hit 9.5 billion yuan by 2026.
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
The low-altitude economy encompasses both crewed and uncrewed aerial activities operating below 1,000 meters, with the possibility of extending this range to 3,000 meters based on regional and practical needs. This sector includes a variety of applications in consumer markets, public services, transportation, logistics, and long-distance operations.
From 2021 to 2023, several countries, including the U.S. and the UK, initiated trials for flying taxis. Additionally, Amazon launched its Prime Air drone delivery service, making it available to real customers in select areas of the U.S. In a significant development for 2024, China issued the first production license globally for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
In 2023, the global market for the low-altitude economy was valued at 2.08 trillion yuan and is anticipated to grow to 2.32 trillion yuan in 2024. Within this, the Chinese market reached 505.95 billion yuan in 2023, reflecting a year-on-year growth rate of 33.8 percent, and is projected to soar to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
China is at the forefront of critical advancements in the low-altitude economy, excelling in areas like unmanned aerial vehicle research and development, equipment manufacturing, and next-generation communication technologies. The number of patent applications pertaining to the low-altitude economy in China surged from 852 in 2014 to an impressive 14,134 by 2023.
As of November 2024, China boasted 744 general aviation enterprises, 3,226 registered general aviation aircraft, and 470 general airports. The country is home to 19,000 enterprises involved in UAV operations and has registered 2.158 million UAVs. In 2023, the industrial scale of eVTOL aircraft in China reached 980 million yuan, marking a 77.3 percent increase from the previous year, with projections estimating it will hit 9.5 billion yuan by 2026.
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
