Research and development expenditure of EU member states is set to rise to over €403 billion by 2024

In 2024, EU member states invested an estimated €403.1 billion in research and development (R&D). This is an increase of 3.6% compared to 2023, when the figure was €389.2 billion. A ten-year comparison reveals significant growth: since 2014, R&D expenditure has increased by 62.2% (from €248.6 billion). The R&D intensity of an EU country indicates the extent to which research and development is prioritised as a strategic area of action.

Stable R&D intensity at 2.2%

R&D intensity is defined as R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Since 2014, this figure has increased by 0.1 percentage points.

Overall, 19 EU member states recorded an increase in their R&D intensity between 2014 and 2024, with the most significant increases in:

• Belgium: +1.0 percentage points
• Greece: +0.7 percentage points
• Estonia & Croatia: +0.6 percentage points each

Leading and catching-up countries

The European Council's target of achieving an R&D intensity of at least 3% by 2024 was met by six EU countries: 

• Sweden: 3.6%
• Belgium: 3.4%
• Austria: 3.3%
• Finland: 3.2%
• Germany: 3.1%
• Denmark: 3.0%

Romania and Malta were at the lower end of the scale with 0.5%, while Cyprus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Slovakia and Luxembourg were slightly higher with 0.7–1.0%.

Business sector remains the biggest driver of R&D

In 2024, the business sector continued to account for the majority of R&D expenditure, with 66.5% of total investment (€268.1 billion) coming from this sector. This was followed by:

• Universities: €86.1 billion (21.4%)
• Public sector: €43.5 billion (10.8%)
• Private non-profit sector: €5.4 billion (1.3%)

Classification of data

R&D intensity provides an indication of the strategic importance of research and development in individual EU countries.

However, it should be noted that these statistics cover all public and private R&D expenditure in the member states. Consequently, they are only indirectly related to EU funding programmes, such as Horizon Europe, and do not permit conclusions to be drawn about the success of individual countries in attracting such funding.

Further information can be found here.