Germany: R&D expenditures reached nearly € 70 billion in 2010
With nearly € 70 billion, public and private R&D expenditures reached a new all time high in Germany in 2010. This includes € 49 billion expenditures of the private sector for internal R&D activities, an increase of 3.7% compared to 2009.
Ms Annette Schavan, Minister for Education and Research, was pleased by the figures and said that this was proof of the effectiveness of the government’s “High-Tech Strategy”. Within the framework of the High-Tech Strategy, the government plans to invest about € 27 billion for encouraging research in the period 2010-2013. The strategy focuses on the following fields: climate and energy, health, mobility, security and communication.
R&D expenditures currently account for 2.82% of GDP. This is above the EU average (about 2%), but Germany still lags behind the Nordic countries in this respect. Finland (3.87%), Sweden (3.42%) and Denmark (3.06%) spend even more on R&D compared to their GDP.
The figures about the R&D expenditures of the private sector are provided by the “Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft”, a not-for-profit agency. It expects that private sector investments in R&D will see further dynamic growth; it estimates an increase of about 5% for 2011. This goes hand in hand with a growth of employment in the fields of research and development. It is expected that 7,800 additional jobs will be created in this area. The dynamic growth in R&D investments is believed to be a major reason and success factor for the excellent performance of German companies in the global marketplace in recent years, in particular in high-tech markets. Germany is a leader in the export of R&D-intensive products (with a share of 12.3% of the global market) and is positioned among the “innovation leaders” in the EU Innovation Scoreboard 2010.
Background: Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
The “Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft“ is the business community's innovation agency for the German science system. Stifterverband is a private, dedicated and not-for-profit association. Through donations, membership fees and other forms of income, Stifterverband generates annual funds of well over 120 million EUR, making it the largest private institution of its kind in Germany.
Background: the German “High-Tech Strategy”
The German “High-Tech Strategy”, launched in August 2006, was the first national concept to rally the key stakeholders involved in innovation around a common idea. On 14 July 2010, the Federal Cabinet decided to continue along this successful path. The new “High-Tech Strategy 2020” will ensure the continuity of the overall approach and, at the same time, set new priorities. The aim of the High-Tech Strategy is to create lead markets, intensify cooperation between science and industry, and continue to improve the general conditions for innovation.
References / further information:
- “Deutschland investiert mehr denn je in Forschung und Entwicklung”, press release no. 158/2011 of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (in German language), 5th December 2011.
- F&E-Datenreport 2011. Tabellen und Daten. Forschung und Entwicklung in der Wirtschaft. Bericht über die F&E Erhebung 2009. Report published by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
- Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (see „Statistik und Analysen“)
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