Every country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has increased its research and development (R&D) intensity over the last decade, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Poland and Czechia were the regional frontrunners from 2010-20, as they both increased intensity – i.e. R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP – by 0.7 percentage points, to 1.4% and 2% respectively.
In 2020, 24 of the EU-27 increased R&D intensity. Austria was third in the whole EU, as it spent 3.2% of GDP on R&D, just behind Belgium and Sweden (3.5%) and ahead of Germany (3.1%).
In the CEE region, Slovenia was second, with 2.2% intensity, followed by Czechia with 2%, Estonia (1.8%) and Hungary (1.6%). The middle group for last year comprised Poland (1.4%), Croatia (1.3%) and Lithuania (1.2%). The laggards, with R&D intensity below 1% in 2020 were Bulgaria (0.9%), Slovakia (0.9%) and Latvia (0.7%).
The business enterprise sector accounts for 66% of R&D expenditure, followed by higher education (22%), government (12%) and the private non-profit sector (1%). R&D is a major driver of innovation, and R&D expenditure and intensity are two of the key indicators used to monitor resources devoted to science and technology worldwide, according to Eurostat.
US nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Company has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with 17 Bulgarian…
By 2030 Artificial Intelligence could be contributing as much as 11.5%, or USD 700bn (EUR…
Lithuania had the lowest annual inflation rate of 0.4% in the EU in March 2024,…
Lithuania will hold a constitutional referendum on whether its citizens can hold dual and multiple…
The ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the most seats but failed to secure…
Shippingmanagement and payment system Ikas has announced that it will initiate operations in…