Statistics Explained

Archive:Enlargement countries - statistics on research and development

Data extracted in September 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: October 2016.

This article is part of an online publication and provides information on a range of statistics related to research and development (R & D) activities in the enlargement countries, in other words the candidate countries and potential candidates. Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Turkey currently have candidate country status, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo [1] are potential candidates.

This article gives an overview relating to R & D in these countries, presenting indicators such as the level of gross domestic expenditure on R & D (GERD), the ratio of R & D expenditure to GDP (also known as the R & D intensity), R & D expenditure by source of funds, and the number of R & D personnel and researchers.

Table 1: Gross domestic expenditure on research & development, 2008 and 2013
Source: Eurostat (rd_e_gerdtot) and (cpc_scienc) and enlargement data collection
Figure 1: Research and development intensity, 2003–13 (1)
(% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (rd_e_gerdtot) and (cpc_scienc)
Figure 2: Distribution of source of research and development funds, 2013 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (rd_e_gerdfund) and (cpc_scienc)
Table 2: Research & development personnel and researchers, 2008–13
(thousands of full-time equivalents)
Source: Eurostat (rd_p_persocc) and (cpc_scienc) and enlargement data collection
Figure 3: R&D personnel as a share of all persons employed, 2008 and 2013 (1)
(%; based on full-time equivalent units)
Source: Eurostat (rd_p_perslf) and enlargement data collection

Main statistical findings

Research and development expenditure

R & D comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society and the use of this stock of knowledge to develop new applications.

In 2013, gross expenditure on R & D was valued at EUR 272 billion in the EU-28, which was 13.2 % higher than five years earlier. R & D expenditure in Turkey was valued at EUR 5.8 billion, which was equivalent to 2.2 % of the level in the EU-28. Turkish R & D expenditure was far higher than in any of the other enlargement countries for which data are shown in Table 1, as the next highest level was EUR 282 million in Serbia, approximately one thousandth of the level in the EU-28. Despite relatively low levels of R&D expenditure, several of the enlargement countries reported substantial increases in such expenditure between 2008 and 2013, notably the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia; in contrast, expenditure in Montenegro was lower in 2013 than in 2008.

The relatively high level of R & D expenditure in Turkey compared with the other enlargement countries was not simply because of its larger size, as can be seen from the level of R & D expenditure relative to the size of the population and the size of the economy. R & D expenditure in Turkey was equivalent to EUR 77.3 per inhabitant, nearly twice as high as the EUR 39.2 per inhabitant value in Serbia, approximately four times as high as in Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and nearly seven times as high as in Kosovo. The range of R & D intensities (R & D expenditure relative to GDP) among the enlargement countries was somewhat narrower, although Turkey and Serbia again recorded the highest values and Kosovo the lowest.

Figure 1 shows how R & D intensity developed over a 10-year period. For much of this period Montenegro recorded the highest R & D intensity, but this dropped by 2011 to a level below that of Turkey and Serbia. Most of the other enlargement countries for which data are available reported a steady increase in their R & D intensities over the period under consideration, as did the EU-28.

An analysis of R & D expenditure by source of funds shows that more than half (55.0 %) of the total expenditure in 2012 within the EU-28 was funded by business enterprises, while one third (32.8 %) was funded by government, and a further 9.7 % from abroad (foreign funds); the other sources include higher education and non-profit organisations. In Montenegro and Turkey, the business enterprise sector was also the largest source of funding for R & D, although providing somewhat less than half the total. By contrast, in Serbia the government sector was main source of funding and provided more than half of all R & D finance, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina funds from abroad accounted for more than half of the total. Compared with the EU-28, other sources provided a relatively large proportion of R & D funding in Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina (see Figure 2).

Research and development personnel and researchers

The number of R & D personnel in the EU-28 has increased in recent years: there were 2.72 million persons employed directly on R & D, as well as those providing direct services such as R & D managers, administrators, and clerical staff (in full-time equivalents) in 2013 (see Table 2), which marked an increase of 254 thousand (or 10.3 %) when compared with 2008. Among these were 1.73 million researchers, in other words professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems and also in related project management.

Turkey reported 113 thousand R & D personnel in 2013, among which 89 thousand were researchers, by far the highest number among the enlargement countries. Between 2008 and 2013 the number of R & D personnel in Turkey increased overall by 68.0 %, while the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (23.6 %) and Serbia (4.4 %) reported smaller increases and Montenegro a relatively large fall (-63.8 %) in line with its contraction in R & D expenditure.

Standardising these data to take account of the overall number of persons employed, R & D personnel accounted for 1.26 % of total employment in the EU-28 in 2013, up from a 1.11 % share five years earlier. Among the enlargement countries, Serbia had the highest share of R & D personnel in total employment, at 0.8 % in 2011, while the smallest share among those countries for which data are available was in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (see Figure 3). The relative weight of R & D personnel in total employment fell rapidly between 2008 and 2013 in Montenegro, but increased elsewhere, most notably in Serbia and Turkey.

An analysis of R & D personnel by sex shows that women accounted for 51 % of the workforce in Serbia in 2011 and Montenegro in 2013, and a higher majority (57 %) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2012. By contrast, women were in a minority among R & D personnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina (42 %) and Turkey (30 %).

Data sources and availability

Data for the enlargement countries are collected for a wide range of indicators each year through a questionnaire that is sent by Eurostat to partner countries which have either the status of being candidate countries or potential candidates. A network of contacts in each country has been established for updating these questionnaires, generally within the national statistical offices, but potentially including representatives of other data-producing organisations (for example, central banks or government ministries). The statistics shown in this article are made available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with other socio-economic indicators collected as part of this initiative.

Eurostat data on research and development (R & D) aim to show a comprehensive picture of the situation in the EU, covering indicators related to expenditure and personnel. Most of the main indicators within this domain are available at a national and a regional level for the EU Member States.

Gross domestic expenditure on R & D (otherwise referred to as GERD) includes expenditure on R & D performed by business enterprises, higher education institutions, as well as government and private non-profit organisations. R & D expenditure by source of funds describes the origin of R & D funding. R & D intensity is defined as R & D expenditure relative to GDP (shown as a percentage).

R & D personnel consists of all individuals employed directly in the field of R & D, including persons providing direct services, such as managers, administrators, and clerical staff.

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics     data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
: not available, confidential or unreliable value.
– not applicable.


Context

R & D is the main driver of innovation, with the level of R & D expenditure and the ratio of R & D intensity being two of the key indicators used to monitor resources devoted to science and technology.

The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth was adopted in 2010. One of its five targets is to see an increase in the level of R & D expenditure such that it averages 3.00 % of the EU’s GDP by 2020. The EU currently lags behind both Japan and the United States in terms of expenditure on R & D as a proportion of GDP, primarily due to relatively low levels of business expenditure.

The European Research Area (ERA) is composed of all R & D activities, programmes and policies in Europe which involve a transnational perspective. The goal of this initiative is to improve the mobility of researchers and to enhance the diffusion of knowledge throughout Europe, by: balancing demand and supply for researchers at a European level; helping create centres of excellence; and improving the skills of researchers in Europe. The goal is to create a unified area open to the world, in which scientific knowledge, technology and researchers circulate freely.

While basic principles and institutional frameworks for producing statistics are already in place, the enlargement countries are expected to increase progressively the volume and quality of their data and to transmit these data to Eurostat in the context of the EU enlargement process. The EU standards in the field of statistics require the existence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as professional independence, impartiality, relevance, confidentiality of individual data and easy access to official statistics; they cover methodology, classifications and standards for production.

Eurostat has the responsibility to ensure that statistical production of the enlargement countries complies with the EU acquis in the field of statistics. To do so, Eurostat supports the national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics through a range of initiatives, such as pilot surveys, training courses, traineeships, study visits, workshops and seminars, and participation in meetings within the European statistical system (ESS). The ultimate goal is the provision of harmonised, high-quality data that conforms to European and international standards.

Additional information on statistical cooperation with the enlargement countries is provided here.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Science and technology (cpc_sc)
Candidate countries and potential candidates: science and technology (cpc_scienc)
Research and development (research)
Statistics on research and development (rd)
R&D expenditure at national and regional level (rd_e)
R&D personnel at national and regional level (rd_p)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.


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