EU governments increased R&D allocations by 3% in 2024
Jul 30, 2025
Abu Dhabi [UAE], July 30: The total government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) across the EU in 2024 stood at an estimated €127 916 million, equivalent to 0.71% of GDP. This indicates a 3.4% increase compared with 2023 (€123 675 million) and a 59.5% increase compared with 2014 (€80 175 million).
Data from the European statistics office (Eurostat), showed that in 2024, government budget allocations for R&D at the EU level stood at €284.7 per person, a 57.0% increase compared with 2014 (€181.3 per person).
The highest allocations among EU countries were recorded in Luxembourg (€759.2 per person), followed at some distance by Denmark (€586.8) and the Netherlands (€542.7). On the other hand, the lowest R&D budget allocations per person were in Romania (€19.1 per person), Bulgaria (€38.3) and Hungary (€58.7). It should be noted as well that changes in GBARD per capita may reflect population changes of the countries.
In terms of distribution by socioeconomic objectives, 35.7% of the GBARD was directed to the general advancement of knowledge, primarily financed by a public block grant known as public general university funds (GUF), used by public higher education institutions to support their activities. Additionally, 16.6% of the GBARD was dedicated to the general advancement of knowledge from sources other than GUF, 9.4% to industrial production and technology, 7.0% to health, and 6.1% to exploration and exploitation of space.
Source: Emirates News Agency
