Press release 30/08/2024

HIGH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR STATISTICS 2022

The high and medium-high technology sector generated 9.4% of value added and nearly 99,000 jobs in the Basque Country in 2022

With regard to Spain as a whole, it accounted for 7.8% of GVA and in the case of manufacturing industry, it represented 10.5%

In 2022, the high and medium-high technology sector (HTS) generated 9.4% of the total gross value added of the Basque economy, according to Eustat data. This sector, which covers all activities with a sound technological base and a fast renewal of knowledge, generated 98,653 jobs, 8.8% of the total, following an increase of 3.4%. The number of companies carrying out these activities was 5,032, with a total turnover of 24,979 million euros.

As regards the high and medium-high technology sector in Spain, the Basque Country accounted for 5.3% of companies and generated 7.8% of its GVA. If we only take into account the manufacturing industry, the weight of this sector is greater, accounting for 7.1% of companies and 10.5% of value added.

Compared to the previous tax year, with the exception of the number of companies, which fell by one unit, all the key figures improved. Thus, the number of jobs rose by 3.4%, turnover increased by 14.5% and value added grew by 7.9%, resulting in an average size in 2022 in companies dedicated to this activity of 19.6 people employed.

13.1% of companies in the high and medium-high technology sector carried out R&D activities, a percentage that is far higher than the total for all sectors (1.1%). Furthermore, this sector, representing 3.4% of total companies, accounted for 44.1% of those undertaking R&D in the commercial sector and, with 1,027.8 million euros, carried out 74.2% of the total expenditure on internal R&D in the commercial sector.

With regard to people working in R&D in this sector, it should be pointed out that in 2022 there were 11,076 people employed in “full-time equivalent jobs (FTE)”, 71.8% of personnel dedicated to R&D in the commercial sector, or 50.9% if the comparison is made with personnel dedicated to these activities across all sectors. There were 3,599 women, representing 32.5%. Of the total number of personnel in full time equivalent jobs, 7,414 belonged to the category of researchers; 2,432 (32.8%) were women.

Regarding innovation, as with R&D, there were significant differences between the total for all sectors and for the high and medium-high technology sector. In 2022, 41.0% of establishments in this sector were innovators compared to 23.8% of the total for all sectors. For establishments with 10 or more employees, these percentages reached 57.0% in the first case and 35.4% in the second.

High and medium-high technology establishments spent a total of 1,750 million euros on innovation activities in 2022, more than half of the total expenditure of all sectors, specifically 53.2%. Of this expenditure, 1,573 million corresponded to establishments with 10 or more employees, which was 54.8% of the total expenditure by companies of that size on this activity.

This sector allocated a greater proportion of resources towards R&D+i and e-commerce than the average for all sectors as a whole

It was also clear that the high and medium-high technology sector allocated a greater proportion of resources towards R&D+i than the other sectors, observing the “innovation” and “internal R&D” intensity ratios, i.e. the amounts that this sector spends compared to the turnover figure. Specifically, innovation intensity in this sector was 6.29% compared to 1.58% for all economic sectors as a whole. In the case of internal R&D, the ratio was 3.77% for the sector and 0.86% for all the economic sectors.

Likewise, both the use of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and e-commerce were more widespread among companies in this sector than in the total of all sectors. In 2022, 54.4% of establishments in this sector engaged in e-commerce, compared to 28.7% of those in all sectors as a whole.

These percentages were a result of the 51.5% of establishments in this sector that made electronic purchases, compared to 25.7% of establishments that did so across all sectors, and the 16.4% of establishments in the technology sector that made electronic sales, a figure that stood at 8.5% in the case of all sectors.

The impact of this sector on the foreign trade of goods was not particularly significant. Whilst exports accounted for 1,009.4 million euros out of a total of 32,721.4 million, imports stood at 697.4 million out of the 29,661.6 million of total imports. These figures represented 3.1% and 2.4%, respectively, out of total exports and imports.

Standing out among the most common products traded in terms of exports were: “Machinery and Mechanical Equipment” (35.0%), “Manufacture of Aircraft and Spacecraft” (18.6%), “Arms and Ammunition” (18.5%) and “Electronic material, Radio, TV, and Communications Equipment” (13.8%). Of particular note in imports were “Electronic Material, Radio, TV and Communications Equipment” (29.9%), “Scientific Instruments” (22.6%) and “Machinery and Mechanical Equipment” (10.6%), with none of the remaining categories reaching 10%.

Turnover in the high and medium-high technology sector has increased by 42.6% since 2010

From a more long-term perspective, since 2010, this sector has continuously increased its contribution from 2015 until 2020, which was the year that marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It began to recover in 2021 and by 2022 had achieved the highest figures of the series in terms of turnover, gross value added and number of jobs. The number of companies fell by one unit compared to 2021, the year that recorded the highest figure.

Since 2010, turnover in the HTS sector has remained above 16,800 million euros, having exceeded 20,000 million in 2017 and reaching its record in 2022 with 24,979 million. However, in 2020, this figure dropped to 19,836 million, before recovering in 2021 and hitting its peak in 2022, with 14.5% more than a year earlier and up 42.6% in respect of 2010.

In same period, 2010-2022, the total number of people employed in HTS companies saw a rise of 7,139 people, after having remained below 90,000 between 2011 and 2017. During the last year of this analysis, the total figure reached 98,653 people in employment, the highest figure of the series, exceeding that recorded in 2010 by 7.8%.

In turn, the number of High and Medium-High technology companies has remained above the threshold of 4,600 throughout this period, with percentages out of the total of Basque companies standing at around 3%, going from 2.9% in 2010 to 3.4% in 2022. In absolute numbers, this translates to 202 more HTS companies than in 2010.

Lastly, the gross value added stood at 7,259 million in 2022, 1,152 million more than in 2010, having always remained above 5,700 million.

Methodological note:

The sectors that belong to the high technology sector are those that, given their degree of complexity, require an ongoing research effort and a sound technological base. The activities included in this sector, according to the CNAE 2009, are listed on the Eustat website. Methodology file: The high technology statistics sector

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz