site.btaBulgaria's Research & Development Intensity Almost Three Times Lower than EU Average

In 2023 Bulgaria was among the European Union (EU) countries with the lowest research & development (R&D) intensity with 0.79%, show Eurostat data published on Wednesday. The R&D intensity represents R&D expenditure as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP). Only five EU countries reported R&D intensity below 1%: Bulgaria, Romania (0.52%), Malta (0.61%), Cyprus (0.68%) and Latvia (0.83%).

In Bulgaria, R&D intensity decreased slightly last year compared to 2022 (0.75%). Before the coronavirus pandemic, R&D intensity was 0.84% in 2019, rising slightly to 0.85% in 2020. The country's R&D expenditure as a percentage of its GDP peaked in 2015 (0.95%), according to the Eurostat database.

In 2013, Bulgaria registered 0.63% in this indicator, growing by 0.16 percentage points over 10 years. By comparison, in 2006, before joining the EU, Bulgaria had an R&D intensity of 0.44%.

Bulgaria's spending on research and development last year reached a total of BGN 1.467 billion, or 15.9% more than a year earlier, show National Statistical Institute data published at the end of October. By comparison, in 2013 these funds amounted to BGN 521.682 million and in 2006 - BGN 237.036 million.

The EU spent EUR 381.4 billion on R&D in 2023, which was 6.7% more than in the previous year (EUR 357.4 billion) and 57.9% more than in 2013 (EUR 241.5 billion). The average R&D intensity remained stable compared with 2022 (2.2%). Five EU countries registered an R&D intensity above 3%. The highest R&D intensity was recorded in Sweden (3.6%), Belgium and Austria (3.3% each). Germany and Finland followed with 3.1% each.

Between 2013 and 2023, R&D intensity increased in 19 EU countries, with the largest increases recorded in Belgium (1.0 pp), Poland (0.7 pp) and Greece (0.7 pp).

The business enterprise sector continued to account for the largest share of R&D expenditure. In 2023 it represented 66% of EU R&D spending, totaling EUR 253.1 billion. It was followed by the higher education sector (EUR 81.7 billion; 21%), the government sector (EUR 41.0 billion; 11%), and the private non-profit sector (EUR5.5 billion; 1%).