A decade of R&D data
The 1999 edition of Eurostat's annual statistics for research and development and patent applications in the European Economic Area (EEA) provides data spanning a decade of activity. The statistics show the trends and structure of R&D in the EEA. Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, compiles data on R&D in Europe in response to a growing demand for information on the state of R&D in Europe. As far as possible, it now presents regional data for four key R&D statistical indicators. These are: government budget appropriations on R&D, R&D expenditure, R&D personnel and European patent applications 'Government R&D appropriations are an important indicator of R&D trends,' says Eurostat. 'In 1997, budget appropriations in the Member States in the EEA totalled more than 57.6 billion euro, with a further 2.6 billion earmarked by the European Commission. This amount is in real terms similar to the past three years and provisional figures for 1998 suggest around the same.' R&D expenditure went up by 4.6% (an increase of 2.3% in real terms) from 1996 to 1997, with approximately 137 billion euro spent on R&D in the EU. This amounts to about 1.9% of the EU's gross domestic product - well below the corresponding figures for the United States and Japan, according to the report authors. More than 60% was accounted for by the business enterprise sector and the rest by government and higher education sectors in roughly equal proportions. Meanwhile, the number of people employed in the R&D sector in the EU continues to gradually increase. Eurostat's figures reflect there are over 2.1 million scientists, technicians and other R&D personnel (mostly in the business enterprise sector) employed in the Member States - making up just 1.27% of the entire EU labour force. Eurostat also provides information on applications for the European patent (EU-15), as a measure of innovative activity technology development and particularly for international comparisons of technology growth. 'Since 1990, the EU-15 patent applications have grown at an average annual rate of 2.7% and in 1998, just over 40,000 patent applications were filed by the EU-15', says Eurostat. It also reports Germany, France and the UK as the three dominant countries in EU patenting - accounting for 70% of the EU total. The information provided in the report is based on data supplied to Eurostat by the Member States, Iceland and Norway, the Research Directorate-General, the European Patent Office, and by the OECD. The authors have organised its contents by topic, and give details for each Member State. The statistics are available on paper or CD-ROM and are supplemented by 'Statistics in Focus', which includes methodological notes.