Press release 02/19/2013
Four regions in Gipuzkoa maintained this Province above the European average in R&D expenditure in terms of GDP
In 2011 expenditure in relation to GDP stood at 2.57% in Gipuzkoa, 1.87% in Bizkaia and 1.61% in Álava. Bajo (4.31%) and Alto Deba (4.26%) particularly stood out in terms of regions
In 2011 the Basque Country, with 2.06%, exceeded the EU-27 average (2.03%) in expenditure on Technological Development and Scientific Research (R&D) with respect to GDP, according to Eustat data. However, there were noticeable differences between provinces. Gipuzkoa, as in previous years, with 2.57%, was the province that exceeded the European average, increasing, moreover, the difference with respect to the other two provinces in the Basque Country, with both Bizkaia (1.87%) and Álava (1.61%) declining compared the percentages obtained in 2010 of 1.91% and 1.68%, respectively. However, its three provinces were above the Spanish average (1.33%).
In economic terms, in 2011 a total of 1.366 billion euros was invested in R&D activities, with internal expenditure on R&D up by 0.4% on the previous year. This increase in expenditure was only produced in Gipuzkoa, where it went from 546 to 559 million (+2.3%), whilst in Álava and Bizkaia expenditure dropped from 171 to 168 million (-1.9%) and from 643 to 640 million (-0.5%), respectively.
Regarding the weight that each province had in the autonomous Region, Bizkaia represented 46.8%, Gipuzkoa 40.9% and Álava the remaining 12.3%.
Four regions in the Basque Country spent over 100 million on R&D and accounted for 76.1% of total expenditure
There was no wide geographical dispersion in expenditure on R&D in the Autonomous Region, where in 2011 it remained similar to previous years. Four regions, those including the capitals and the Alto Deba, surpassed 100 million euros in expenditure on R&D: Gran Bilbao (522 million), Donostia-San Sebastián (263 million), Llanada Alavesa (149 million) and Alto Deba (105 million). Together they implemented 76.1% of the expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country, maintaining a similar percentage to the last few years. However, Bajo Deba, (4.31%) was the region that obtained the greatest percentage of expenditure in relation to GDP, with the regions of Alto Deba (4.26%), Donostia-San Sebastián (2.70%) and Goierri (2.63%) appearing above the average for the Autonomous Region and for the EU-27, all of them regions in Gipuzkoa.
Graph 2: Distribution of internal expenditure on R&D. Basque Country. 2011 (€ millions)
Source: Eustat. Statistics on Scientific Research and Technological Development activities in the Basque Country (R&D)
By province, Álava implemented 89.0% of expenditure on R&D in a single region, Llanada Alavesa, with 149 million euros. In Bizkaia two regions stood out, Gran Bilbao, with 81.5% of expenditure implemented, 522 million euros, and Duranguesado, with 9.2% of expenditure or 59 million euros. Gipuzkoa, for its part, was the province where expenditure had the greatest geographical distribution, with 90% being implemented in four regions. Thus, Donostia-San Sebastián, with 263 million dedicated to research, implemented 47.1% of expenditure in Guipuzkoa; Alto Deba, with an investment of 105 million euros, accounted for 18.8% and Bajo Deba and Goierri, with 70 and 64 million, respectively, implemented 12.5% and 11.5% of provincial expenditure.
By implementation sectors, the Business sector continued to see the greatest concentration of expenditure in percentage terms, followed by the Higher Education and Administration sectors, although each of the three provinces reflected different characteristics.
Therefore, Gipuzkoa was the province with the highest percentage of expenditure in the Business sector, 82.9%, accounting for 463 million euros. It was followed by Álava with 75.8% (127 million) and Bizkaia with 70.0% (448 million).
In Álava the Public Administration sector stood out, with 9.2% of total expenditure or 15 million euros. This percentage was lower in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where it stood at 7.9% and 3.1%, respectively.
Bizkaia, for its part, stood out for implementation in Higher Education, accounting for 22.1% of the total expenditure for the province with 141 million, whilst in Álava this figure was 15.0% and in Gipuzkoa, 13.9%.
69.1% of internal expenditure on R&D in the business sector was financed by companies
According to the origin of the funds, out of the total expenditure on R&D, 1.366 billion euros, 38.6% was funded by public administrations, 54.3% by companies, and the remaining 7.1% came from other sources (higher education institutes, abroad, etc).
By regions, Gran Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, which are those that implemented the greatest expenditure on R&D, is where the highest funding from the administration was observed, 45.5% and 48.5%, respectively. On the other hand, they were also the regions that revealed a smaller percentage of company funding, with 45.5% and 42.1%. Regarding the other two most important regions in terms of expenditure, it is noteworthy that in Llanada Alavesa and in Alto Deba business funding stood at 53.4% and 67.2% respectively and public administration provided 41.6% in the first instance and 23.7% in the second.
In terms of expenditure in the Business sector, the main sector of implementation with 1.039 billion euros of expenditure, 69.1% was funded (718 million euros) by companies, either with their own funds or with contributions from other companies. By province, the highest percentage, 72.2%, or 92 million, was funded by companies in Álava. This percentage dropped in Bizkaia to 68.8% and in Gipuzkoa 68.5%, where 308 and 317 million were dedicated, respectively.
As regards scientific disciplines, as in previous years, engineering and technology continued to be the discipline into which most expenditure was implemented, with 979 million, or 71.7%, and it was the discipline that employed the most people, 18,558 (12,695 in Full-time Equivalent Jobs).
Gipuzkoa stood out in terms of province, where Engineering and technology accounted for 79.1% of expenditure on R&D. In Bizkaia it accounted for 65.9% of expenditure and in Álava, lastly, this expenditure stood at 69.1%. This extended presence of engineering and technology was seen in all regions, with the exception of Montaña Alavesa, which dedicated 100% to medical and pharmaceutical sciences.
The other disciplines were Exact and Natural Sciences with 142 million, 10.4%, Medical Sciences (including pharmacy) 127 million, 9.3%, Agricultural Sciences (including livestock, forestry and fishing) 35 million, 2.6% and Social Sciences and Humanities 84 million, representing 6.1%.
In relation to employment, the total personnel in R&D in full-time equivalent work FTE, stood at 17,879 in 2011 in the Autonomous Region, with growth of 1.98% compared to 2010. From this figure, 63.1% were researchers, 28.5% technicians and 8.4% assistants.
By province, in Álava this figure stood at 2,356 individuals (+1.19%), with 52.8% being researchers; Bizkaia employed 8,192 individuals (-0.22), of which 67.3% were researchers and Gipuzkoa, for its part, employed 7,332 individuals (+4.83%), of which 61.7% were researchers. This lower proportion of researchers in Álava was compensated by the higher percentage of technicians, 35.8%, which was 11 points more than Bizkaia and 6 more than Gipuzkoa.
The four regions with the highest expenditure on R&D employed 4 out of every 5 researchers.
The four regions with the highest expenditure on R&D, Gran Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián, Llanada alavesa and Alto Deba, which together implemented 76.1% R&D expenditure in the Basque Country, employed 13,586 individuals in FTE, which was 76.0% of personnel dedicated to R&D, and 8,828 researchers, 78.2% of the total researchers in the Autonomous Region.
If you look at the female participation in R&D, the average for the Basque Country stood at 34.7%, 6,204 women. By region, Montaña Alavesa (75.0%), Llanada Alavesa (53.6%), Gran Bilbao (39.7%), Donostia-San Sebastián (39.6%), Markina-Ondarroa (37.2%) and Gernika-Bermeo (34.9%) all stood out above the average.
Note: The definitive annual estimation for 2010 and the advance estimation for 2011 of GDP in the Basque Country and its Provinces have been incorporated, which has meant variations in indicators that refer to GDP.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tel:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.eus
Contact: Pilar Vázquez Sancho
Tel:+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