R&D in Europe - 1996 Annual Statistics
The European Communities' Statistical Office (EUROSTAT) has published the 1996 edition of its "Annual Statistics" on research and development in Europe. The yearbook contains details of government spending on R&D in the European Economic Area, including comparisons with spending by third countries. The report also provides details of personnel engaged in R&D, total R&D expenditure and European patent applications. Figures provided cover the European Union, national and regional levels. In 1993, ECU 117 billion was spent on R&D in the EU. This is equivalent to 2% of GDP and is considerably lower than the corresponding figures for the USA and Japan. Business/enterprise spending accounted for almost two-thirds of this ECU 117 billion, with the remaining third divided almost equally between government and higher education spending. In 1994 and 1995, on the basis of provisional figures, total R&D spending increased slightly from the 1993 figure. The report shows that the highest expenditure on R&D, in 1993, was in Germany and France. Within these countries, as in others, there were considerable disparities between regions. The numbers of qualified staff engaged in R&D activities has grown slightly from 1993 to 1995, with almost 2.1 million employed as scientists, technicians and other related personnel. These research employees make up around 1.2% of the entire EU labour force. As regards government expenditure on research and development, in 1994 the governments of the EEA spent some ECU 54 billion, with an additional ECU 2 billion spent by the European Commission. This represented a decline of some 2.5% from 1993, and provisional figures suggest a further decline in 1995.