Government R&D investment per capita has risen 22% since 2010

In 2020, government budget allocations for R&D at EU level amounted to €100,786 million, equivalent to 0.8% of GDP, according to Eurostat data.

Per capita R&D expenditure in 2020 was €225 per person, up 22% from €184 per person in 2010.  The highest allocations were recorded in Luxembourg (€648 per person), followed by Denmark (€519), and Germany (€443).

However, the EU countries with the lowest R&D budget allocations per person were Romania (15 euros per person), Bulgaria (21 euros), Hungary (39 euros) and Latvia (42 euros).

Over the last decade, the largest increases in public R&D expenditure per capita grew in Latvia (from 14 euros in 2010 to 42 euros in 2020), Greece (from 62 to 148 euros) and Estonia (from 77 to 141 euros). But, these allocations decreased in Portugal (from 92 to 71), Spain (from 179 to 144), Romania (from 17 to 15), France (from 253 to 235), Ireland (from 181 to 175) and Finland (from 387 to 373).

On R&D investment per capita

The 2020 data on government R&D budget allocations presented by Eurostat are preliminary and may therefore be revised. According to the data calendar, final figures will be published in January 2022.

As a clarification, government budget allocations for R&D are all allocations allocated to R&D in central (federal), regional (state) and local (municipal) governments. They therefore refer to budgetary provisions, not actual spending.