Final data for 2021 indicates that the EU spent €331 billion on research & development (R&D), up 6.9% compared with the previous year (almost €310 billion). Compared with 2011, there was a 45.0% increase. These rates of change are in current prices, meaning they reflect both price changes and real changes in the level of expenditure.
When looking at R&D intensity, i.e. R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, data show a slight decrease from 2.30% in 2020 to 2.27% in 2021. This could be explained by the GDP rebound in 2021 after the significant drop in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with 2019, before the pandemic, R&D intensity increased by 0.05 percentage points (pp) (2.23%), while compared with the previous 10 years, it increased by 0.26 pp.
R&D is a major driver of innovation, and R&D expenditure and intensity are two of the key indicators used to monitor resources devoted to science and technology worldwide.
This information comes from final data on R&D expenditure published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.