In this paper, a compact digital phase shifter to be used an active phased array antenna system for satellite communications was proposed. The even and odd mode analysis for a given reflection-type phase shifter, which uses a folded hybrid coupler as a base element, was performed and the design parameters were derived. Also, to verify experimentally the electrical performances of the proposed structure, X-band 4-bit digital phase shifter was designed and fabricated using Teflon soft substrate $({varepsilon}_r; =;2.17)$. Its circuit size was less than 3.5 cm $ imes$ 3.0 cm, and it exhibited at least 50 % size reduction as compared with the conventional unfolded configuration. The experimental results of the fabricated phase shifter showed that the average insertion loss and insertion loss variation were less than 3.5 dB, $pm$ 0.6 dB within the operating band, 7.9 ~ 8.4 GHz, respectively. And, input and output return loss were more than 10 dB, respectively. Also, the phase response of the phase shifter showed 4-bit operation with $pm$3$^{circ}$ rms phase error.