Nearly half of R&D spending in 2022 was for testing and development, the majority of which came from the business sector. Compared to the previous year, the increase was 16%. The volume of expenditure allocated to applied research reached 199 million euros, or 14% more than the previous year. Although both the state and business sectors contributed to growth, most of the money invested in applied research went to the development of the business sector. In 2022, 130 million euros were allocated for basic research, which is more than a fifth more than the previous year.
Over half of the cost types involved labor costs, which increased 19% over the year. Labor costs increased most in the public sector and in companies, where the number of employees linked to research and development also increased most. The volume of investments made in research and development was 86 million euros, or 28% more than the previous year. Investment increased significantly in both the state and business sectors, but decreased in higher education
In 2022, the number of people employed in full-time research and development was 8,065, which was 19% more than a year ago. The number of employed increased most in the commercial sector, where there were more than a thousand employed compared to the previous year. The economic sector thus rose to first place for the first time in terms of the number of people employed in research and development.
The R&D intensity ratio, or the ratio of total R&D costs to gross domestic product, was 1.78% in 2022. Compared to last year, the increase was only modest by 0.01 percentage points. Despite the strong growth in research and development spending, it did not have the expected positive impact on the intensity index, as current GDP prices also grew in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The ratio of business sector R&D expenditure to gross domestic product reached 1% in 2022. To achieve the target (2%) set in the development plan for R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship by 2035, it is necessary to further increase investment in research and development, but at the current rate achieving the objective seems realistic.
The average intensity index of the European Union according to preliminary data for 2022 was 2.22, slightly lower than that of 2021. The amount of research and development spending in the entire European Union was 352 billion euros, or 6.34% more than last year.
More information on research and development can be found in the Statistical Office database under the heading “Science. Technology. Innovation”.
Data on research and development spending by European Union member states in 2022 is available on the Eurostat website.
2023-12-08 14:02:00
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