Press Release 18/11/2016
Expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country fell by 1.3% in 2015
Public funding increased 1.1%, whereas private funding through companies fell 3.1%
In 2015, 1,273.2 million euros were invested in Technological Development and Scientific Research Activities (R&D) in the Basque Country, 1.3% less than the previous year, according to EUSTAT data.
Research staff, measured as those in full-time work, increased 0.5% compared to the previous year and reached 12,089 people, but if we measure the total number of people in full-time equivalent positions, they fall by 1.7%.
In relation to GDP, expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country stood at 1.84% of GDP in 2015, after falling by 8 hundredths of a percentage point compared to the previous year. In comparison to the provisional data published by Eurostat, the Basque Country was 51% above Spain, which stood at 1.22%, and 9.8% below the EU-28 average of 2.04%.
74.7% of expenditure on R&D in the Basque Country was implemented by the business sector
In terms of who carried out expenditure on R&D, the majority, 74.7% (951.0 million euros) was implemented by companies, whereas 18.4% (234.7 million) corresponded to Higher Education and the remaining 6.9% (87.5 million) was carried out by various bodies dependent on the Administration. These figures, compared to the previous year, mean that in two sectors, Companies and Higher Education, there was a decrease in spending of 1.8% and 1.3% respectively, whereas in Public Administration there was a rise of 4.8%.
From the point of view of those who finance R&D, the percentages of the previous year stayed largely the same, although there were some differences worth highlighting. Private funding through companies, which spent 708.9 million euros on research, or 55.7% of the total, remained the primary source of funding, though it fell 1.8 points on 2014, with a 3.1% drop in total R&D spending.
The proportion of public funds, at 424.7 million, or 33.4%, increased by 0.4 points compared to the previous year, with a 1.1% increase in the amount contributed. Higher education, at 37.1 million, accounted for 2.9% of the funds, practically the same as in 2014, whereas 99.6 million, or 7.8%, came from abroad, maintaining the same figures and proportion as the previous year. Finally, 2.9 million, or 0.2%, came from various non-profit institutions.
The number of individuals employed full time was 18,217, which, when broken down by implementation sector, consists of 13,087 people in Businesses (71.9% of the total), 3,979 in Higher Education (21.8%) and 1,151 in Public Administration (6.3%).
35.2% of R&D personnel were women
6,414 individuals, 35.2% of R&D personnel in full-time work, were women, with the highest percentages of female presence in Public Administration and Higher Education with 55.1% and 50.2%, respectively, whilst for Business this percentage stood at 28.9%.
In comparison with the previous year, the Business sector of the Basque Country, although still the sector that is making the greatest efforts in research tasks, registered a drop of four tenths in its percentage share, down to 74.7%, whilst Higher Education maintained its percentage constant at 18.4%. The Public Administration, for its part, increased its contribution by four tenths. This pattern, which sees a decrease in the proportion of the business sector in favour of the other two sectors, has been in play since 2006, even though the business sector clearly accounts for most participation, taking in three quarters of total expenditure on R&D.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tlf: 945 01 75 62
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