by KG/EUROPA In 2013, the EU28 Member States spent almost €275 billion on Research & Development (R&D). The R&D intensity, i.e. R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, stood at 2.02% in the EU28 in 2013, compared with 1.76% in 2004. This level remained however lower in the EU28 than in other major economies. R&D intensity was much higher in South Korea (4.04% in 2011) and Japan (3.38% in 2011) as well as, to a lesser extent, in the United States (2.81% in 2012), while in both China (1.98% in 2012) and Russia (1.11%) the R&D intensity was below that of the EU28. In order to provide a stimulus to the EU’s competitiveness, an increase of the R&D intensity in the EU28 is one of the five headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy. The business enterprise sector continued to be the main sector in which R&D expenditure was performed accounting for 64% of total R&D conducted in 2013, followed by the higher education sector (23%), the government sector (12%) and the private non-profit sector (1%). This information is published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Highest R&D intensity in the Nordic Member States In 2013, the highest R&D intensities were recorded in Finland (3.32%), Sweden (3.21%) and Denmark (3.05%), all above 3% of GDP, followed by Germany (2.94%) and Austria (2.81%). At the opposite end of the scale, ten Member States recorded an R&D intensity below 1% of GDP: Romania (0.39%), Cyprus (0.48%), Latvia (0.60%), Bulgaria (0.65%), Greece (0.78%), Croatia (0.81%), Slovakia (0.83%), Malta (0.85%), Poland (0.87%) and Lithuania (0.95%). Compared with 2004, R&D intensity increased in twenty-two Member States, decreased in Croatia (from 1.03% in 2004 to 0.81% in 2013), Luxembourg (from 1.63% to 1.16%) and Sweden (from 3.39% to 3.21%), and remained almost stable in Romania, Finland and the United Kingdom. Highest share of R&D conducted within the business sector in Slovenia and Ireland... The main sector in which R&D was performed in 2013 was the business enterprise sector in all Member States, except Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania (where the higher education sector was the dominant performing sector) and Romania (where almost half of the R&D expenditure was conducted within the government sector). The highest shares of R&D expenditure performed in the business sector were observed in Slovenia (77%), Ireland (72% in 2012), Belgium, Hungary, Austria and Finland (all 69%), Germany and Sweden (both 68%) and Denmark, France and the United Kingdom (all 65%). Compared with 2004, the share of R&D conducted in the business enterprise sector increased in fifteen Member States, decreased in twelve, while it remained stable in Belgium. ...and within the government sector in Romania and the higher education sector in Cyprus and Lithuania For the government sector, the highest share was by far registered in Romania (49%), followed by Bulgaria (30%), Latvia (29%), Greece and Poland (both 27%) and Croatia (26%). The highest shares of R&D conducted within the higher education sector were recorded in Cyprus (57%), Lithuania (55%), Latvia (43%) and Estonia (42%).
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