Press release 17/11/2011
Expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country represented 2.08% of GDP in 2010
This expenditure reached 1,360.3 million euros, an increase of 6.2% with respect to 2009
In 2010 1,360.3 million euros were invested in Technological Development and Scientific Research (R&D) in the Basque Country, according to data provided by Eustat, 6.2% up on the previous year.
Thus, expenditure on R&D in relation to the GDP of the Basque Country reached 2.08%, nine-hundredths more than the previous year, maintaining the positive growth experienced in previous years.
Employed personnel, for its part, reached 17,532 people in full-time work, which represents 1.8% of the employed population, following an increase of 5.0% with respect to the previous year. Of these personnel, 11,071 were full-time researchers, which also increased by 6.6% compared to the previous year.
33.4% of R&D personnel were women
33.4% of R&D personnel, 5863 people, were women, and the highest percentages of female participation were in Public Administration and Higher Education, with 51.9% and 47.4%, respectively, whereas in companies this percentage stood at 28.5%.
77.1% of expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country was implemented by the business sector
By sectors, businesses accounted for the majority of expenditure on R&D, implementing 77.1% (1,048.5 million euros), whilst 17.2% (234.5 million) corresponded to higher education and the remaining 5.7% (77.2 million) was implemented by various organisations dependant on the Administration.
The business sector in the Basque Country therefore continued to place a greater emphasis on research, also registering an increase of 8-tenths on the previous year. The Public Administration sector, meanwhile, remained the same and the Higher Education sector fell by 8-tenths.
Although in 2010 there is no information available for Spain and the EU-27, in previous years it was seen that the expenditure structure of the Basque Country maintained an important differential to the Spanish average in 2009, where businesses implemented 52.1% of expenditure in R&D, Higher Education 27.8% and Public Administration 20.1%.
By activity sectors, businesses in the industrial sector were responsible for 43.7% of expenditure on R&D in 2010, whereas those belonging to the service sector were responsible for 54.2%, with construction and the primary sector being responsible for the remaining 2.1%. Focusing on industrial companies, special mention should be made of the fact that the activity branches of Transport Material (10.7%), Other Machinery (6.6%) and Metal Items (4.3%) are those that implemented the most internal expenditure on R&D. Within services companies, those included in R&D (34.3%) and Other business activities (8.3%) dedicated greater resources to internal R&D expenditure.
From a funding point of view, there were similar percentages to 2009. Private funding, through companies, devoted 733.9 million euros to research (53.9% of the total), public finance 542.3 million (39.9%) and higher education 30.0 million (2.2%). The remaining funds came from overseas, with 49.8 million (3.7%), and different non-profit institutions, with 4.3 million (0.3%).
As regards the importance of Technology Centres in the Basque Country, the expenditure implemented reached 139.7 million euros, 10.3% of the total, and employed 1751 people full-time, 10% of the total.
Lastly, regarding the evolution of expenditure on R&D in relation to Gross Domestic Product, at this moment there are no data available in Spain or in the EU-27 for 2010. However, and for previous years, it has been observed how the percentage of expenditure over GDP in the Basque Country maintained an important differential to that of the Spanish average, reaching EU-27 figures in 2009.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: Pilar Vázquez Sancho
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 46 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Further press releases on Technological Development and Scientific Research Statistics
Technological Development and Scientific Research Statistics Databank