Percentage of GDP spent on R&D falls in Member States
Figures published by Eurostat for the period 1985 to 1999 indicate that although EU governments allocated more funds to research and development activities (R&D) at the end of the period, there was a clear decrease in terms of percentage of GDP. EU governments allocated 59,388 million euro to R&D in 1999, which was 1.6 times the level of 1985. The corresponding figures for the USA and Japan are 70,000 million euro and 26,000 million euro respectively. As a percentage of GDP, funds allocated by the four largest Member States (Germany, France, Italy and the UK), have declined substantially. However, over the same period, smaller EU countries such as Finland, Belgium and Portugal increased their allocation of funds to R&D. The largest increase in the allocation of funds to R&D activities since 1995 occurred in Spain, which recorded a 13 per cent increase. Portugal, Ireland and Finland follow Spain. Statistics also illustrate a shift in emphasis from the defence category towards general university funds.