Book excerpt: Aerospace is a major world industry. This handbook, first published in 1987, provides a world survey of the industry in statistical form. The first part covers production and distribution by sector – airframes (aircraft), aeroengines, avionics, systems, missiles / spacecraft – and by country. It includes a summary for each country of the degree of government intervention, which is a crucial factor as state involvement is essential for the aerospace sector. The second part covers technological change, and here graphical representations of trends in product and process technologies are given.