On Wednesday, a Eurostat analysis ranked Belgium first for research and development intensity (R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP) in the EU in 2021, at 3.43%, followed by Sweden (3.40%), Austria (3.26%) and Germany (3.13%).
Eurostat also reported an overall 6.9% increase in the EU’s expenditure on research and development (R&D) in 2021 (€331 billion) compared to 2020 (less than €310 billion), and a 45% increase since 2011.
“R&D is a major driver of innovation,” the report explains, “and R&D expenditure and intensity are two of the key indicators used to monitor resources devoted to science and technology worldwide.”
Belgium also ranked number one for the highest increase in GDP spending in R&D between 2011 and 2021 with a rise of 1.26 percentage points, followed by Greece (+0.77 pp) and Poland (+0.68 pp).
Since 2000, the business sector in the EU has accounted for the majority of R&D spending (65.95% of the total expenditure in 2021; €218.32 billion) followed by higher education (21.76%; €72.03 billion), government (11.64%; €38.55 billion) and the private non-profit sector (0.65%; €2.14 billion).
Though the numbers are impressive, Europe’s R&D intensity continues to lag behind countries like South Korea (4.93%), the US (3.46%) and Japan (3.34%).
