R&D investment in Europe in 2023: €381.4 Bn by the EU (+6.7% since 2022)

In 2023, the European Union spent €381.4 Bn on R&D, 6.7% more than in 2022 (€357,4 Bn) and 57.9% more than ten years earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on 11/12/2024. Eurostat points out that these are provisional figures.

• This amount corresponds to 2.22% of EU GDP (in 2022, €357.4 Bn represented 2.21% of EU GDP);
• The 2.22% of GDP represents 0.78% less than the investment target of 3% of GDP for research and development set for the European Research Area;
• The EU country investing the most in R&D in 2023 in value terms is Germany (€129 Bn, or 3.11% of GDP), followed by France (€61.7 Bn, 2.19% of GDP) and then Italy (€27.9 Bn, 1.31% of GDP).
• Denmark, Poland, Austria, Finland and Sweden are the countries that will see the biggest increase in the percentage of their GDP devoted to R&D between now and 2022.

The data provided by Eurostat also indicates the amounts invested by sector. The business sector is the one that invests the most in the EU, with a total of €253.1 Bn. This represents 66% of R&D spending.

Denmark invests the most per…