In 2021, the total government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) across the EU stood at €109 250 million, equivalent to 0.8% of GDP. This is a 6% increase compared with 2020 (€102 791 million) and a 35% increase compared with 2011 (€81 139 million).
This information comes from data on government budget allocations for R&D published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.
Source dataset: gba_nabsfin07
Statistics on GBARD provide an insight into the priority governments give to different public R&D funding activities, and are linked to policy issues by means of a classification by "objectives" or "goals" (NABS 2007).
In 2021, government budget allocations for R&D at an EU level stood at €244 per person, a 33% increase compared with 2011 (€184 per person). The highest allocations were recorded in Luxembourg (€689 per person), followed at a distance by Denmark (€530) and Germany (€471).
On the other hand, EU countries with the lowest R&D budget allocations per person were Romania (€19 per person), Bulgaria (€24), Latvia (€45) and Hungary (€60).
Over the last decade, the largest percentage increases in government budget allocations for R&D at € per person were recorded in Latvia (from €14 in 2011 to €45 in 2021), Greece (from €58 to €152) and Hungary (from €30 to €60). In contrast, these allocations decreased in Spain (from €155 in 2011 to €152 in 2021).
R&D is central to many European and national level policies that aim to increase the competitiveness of the EU’s economies and the welfare of its citizens. R&D was put forward as a driving theme in the Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2019 to 2024.
For more information:
- Statistics Explained article on government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD)
- Dedicated section to science, technology and innovation
- Database on government budget allocations
Methodological notes:
- Denmark: data are estimated. Austria: definition differs.
- 2021 data on government budget allocations for R&D presented in this article are preliminary and might therefore be revised. Following the calendar for the transmission of data, updated figures will be published in January 2023 .
- Government budget allocations for R&D are all allocations assigned to R&D in central (federal) government, regional (state) and local (municipal) government. They therefore refer to budget provisions, not to actual expenditure. Local government budget funds may not be included if their contribution is not significant or if the data cannot be collected.
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