Archive:Researchers in the European countries

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Data from 2007, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Table, Graph or Map 1: Full title of the Table, Graph or Map

A portrait of government and higher education researchers in European countries

Research in the government and higher education sectors (GOV and HES), are mainly financed by public funds, and therefore less oriented towards profit. It can thus be assumed that these sectors attract researchers with slightly different career objectives than researchers employed in the business enterprise sector. Of the four R&D performing sectors, the higher education sector still employs most researchers at EU level, although the business enterprise sector has gradually been catching up. As a share of total employment, the highest levels of researchers working in the government and higher education sectors in the EU were recorded in Finland. In Luxembourg, the proportion of young researchers in these two sectors is very high, whereas in other countries, such as Latvia, the researcher community working in the government and higher education sectors is relatively old. In most countries for which data are available, the vast majority of researchers are citizens of the country of employment. However, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cyprus and Denmark counted more than 10 % of foreign researchers in the higher education sector. In most countries for which data are available, the vast majority of researchers are citizens of the country of employment. However, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cyprus and Denmark counted more than 10 % of foreign researchers in the higher education sector.

Main statistical findings

Figure 1: Shares of researchers by sector in EU-27, 2000 to 2007

Researchers are employed in all sectors of the economy, but at EU level the highest shares -measured in headcount (HC) - can be found in the higher education and business enterprise sectors, followed by the government sector (see figure 1). While the share of researchers in the business enterprise sector increased steadily during the period under review, growth rates were lower in the higher education sector and virtually stagnant in the government sector.

Marked gender imbalance in the higher education and government sectors

Table 1: Researchers in the government and higher education sectors, 2006

The following focuses on researchers in the government and higher education sectors broken down by sex, age group and citizenship. As mentioned above, researchers tend to be far more numerous in the higher education sector than in the government sector. However, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Russia were exceptions to this rule (see table 1). In Bulgaria and Russia the comparatively high number of researchers in the government sector may be a legacy of the past economic system. In Luxembourg the limited number of researchers in higher education is linked to the fact that no university existed in this country until recently. Most of the countries for which data are available did not achieve a gender balance in the government and higher education sectors. However, in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Portugal, female researchers in the government sector outnumbered their male counterparts. Latvia and Lithuania were the only countries where women accounted for more than 50 % of researchers in the higher education sector. The widest gender gap in the EU was reported in the Netherlands, where women comprised less than 30 % of researchers in both sectors under review. In Japan, the only non-European country shown in table 1, women in research were vastly underrepresented, accounting for only 13.2 % of researchers in the government sector and 22.1 % in the higher education sector. In the EU as a whole, female participation in research may well rise in the future, as the share of female higher education graduates continues to increase and the proportion of women among the 25-34 and 35-44 old graduates is already higher than that of men (see Eurostat news release 58/2009 – 28 April 2009). Readers with a particular interest in the gender gap in research should also take a closer look at the forthcoming edition of She Figures ^[1], which will be published by the European Commission in autumn 2009.

Finland records the highest shares of researchers in the higher education and government sectors in the EU

Table 1 also indicates that researchers comprise a very small share of total employment in the EU, at just 0.10 % in the government sector and 0.44 % in the higher education sector. However, the average figure masks wide national differences. For the government sector, the share of researchers in total national employment ranges from 0.03 % in Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom to 0.23 % in Finland. In parallel, in the higher education sector this share ranges from 0.11 % in Luxem¬bourg to 0.83 % in Finland. The high figures for Finland are not surprising as it ranks among the most research-intensive countries in the world ^[2] . Iceland, which aims to join the EU in 2012, also recorded comparably high levels of researchers in the higher education sector and particularly in the government sector.

Researchers: young in Luxembourg — older in Latvia

Figure 2: Researchers in the government and higher education sectors by age group, available countries, 2006

Statistical data on researchers in the government and higher education sectors by age group are only available for 14 EU Member States, plus Croatia and Norway. This limited number can nonetheless provide an interesting insight into the age structure of researchers at national level. At first glance, the age pyramids (shown in figure 2) of researchers in higher education sector and in government sector are fairly similar, but a closer look reveals some differences between the two sectors. The most striking result was found in Luxembourg, where two thirds of researchers in the government sector are younger than 35. This may be explained by the significant recent expansion ^[3] of public laboratories employing many young researchers. As in the government sector, researchers in higher education in Luxembourg are also very young, with 42 % of them under 35 years of age. This can partly be explained by the government’s strategy of developing the University of Luxembourg, with a strong focus on research and innovation. However, researchers in the government sector were comparatively younger than in the higher education sector, as the university pursued a more balanced recruitment of senior scientists. Owing to its lack of international renown, it is difficult for a young university to attract experienced researchers. Thus, the current number of researchers is still very low compared to other small countries such as Malta (see table 1), where a university was founded several centuries ago.

In contrast, the opposite was observed in Latvia, where the increasing age of researchers is especially visible in the government sector. More than half of Latvian researchers in the government sector are over 55 years old. This is because comparatively low salaries and unattractive working conditions tend to drive young Latvian researchers abroad ^[4]. However, R&D expenditure measured in constant prices has more than doubled in the Latvian government sector between 2003 and 2007. If this trend continues, it will probably encourage young Latvian researchers to start and continue their career in this sector. Current imbalances in the age structure are therefore expected to even out or at least show an improvement. Other countries also employed large numbers of young researchers in the higher education sector: in Austria, Cyprus and Finland, more than 40 % of researchers in the higher education sector were less than 35 years of age. Research policies are comparable in Austria and Finland, where research is supported by a higher education system that promotes transition from graduation directly into research careers. However, this was not the case in Cyprus, as most Cypriot students have to study abroad because the existing educational structures are too small to cater for all students who wish to enrol in tertiary education. In 2006, nearly 80 % of Cypriot students in tertiary education were enrolled in another European country (EU-27, EFTA and candidate countries — see also on this issue: Eurostat news release 58/2009 – 28 April 2009). As for the government sector, Latvia also accounted for the highest share of older researchers in the higher education sector, with 38 % of researchers aged over 55 years. It should be noted that Italy also counted 36 % of researchers in the higher education sector over 55 years old ^[5]. The relatively high share of researchers in the highest age bracket in some countries may be surprising, especially in light of the official retirement age which in most of the countries shown is 65 or below. This could be due to a keen interest in the research area and reluctance to waste important human resources, but could also in some cases be an effect of low pension levels. Data on the age structure of researchers in the business enterprise sector are not available, but it can be assumed that younger researchers tend to be more attracted by this sector, as salaries there are normally higher.

Subdivision 2

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