Austria boasts second highest research spending in the EU

© APA/ORF.at; Data: APA/Eurostat

In 2017, Austria significantly increased its expenditures for research and development as a percentage of GDP, from 2.42 to 3.16 percent.

This comprises the second highest level among the 28 EU member states. The country with the highest research expenditures is Sweden at 3.33 percent, according to data published by Eurostat in January 2019. The EU average is 2.07 percent of GDP, compared to 1.77 percent in 2007. Romania is ranked at the very bottom with an R&D to GDP ratio of 0. 5 percent. On balance, the EU invested EUR 318.1 billion in research and development in the year 2017. This represents a considerable rise in overall expenditures for research and development compared to only EUR 229.6 billion in the year 2007.