Total expenditure on research in Portugal reaches 3,236 million euros in 2020 – Economy
The total expenditure on research in Portugal reached “a new historic high with 3,236 million euros in 2020”, being the second European country with the highest growth rate in gross expenditure, revealed the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES).
Portugal is the second country in the European Union in which the absolute expenditure in millions of euros has a higher growth rate: it is an increase of 8.2% when comparing the data for 2019 and 2020. Portugal was surpassed only by Lithuania .
Thus, in 2020, expenditure in Portugal exceeded three billion euros for the first time, according to the publication of the definitive results of the 2020 National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN 2020).
The increase in total expenditure on R&D in Portugal had already been registered since 2015 and now this increase represents 1.62% of GDP.
“A positive performance in terms of R&D intensity is not explained by an eventual more intense fall in GDP, but by an increase in R&D expenditure”, explains the ministry’s office.
Spending growth is particularly strong in the corporate sector.
For the fourth consecutive year, private expenditure is higher than public expenditure: “Companies’ R&D expenditure now represents 57% of total R&D expenditure”, personifies the MCTES office, which presents a table showing that 2015 was the turning point , as it was the last in which a percentage of private expenditure was still lower than that of public (46%).
In 2020, there were more than 4300 companies that registered R&D activities, that is, 541 more companies than in the previous year.
Spending on R&D in higher education reduces by around 4% compared to 2019, that is, around 45 million euros.
According to the tutelage, this decrease is the result of the impact emitted by the covid-19 pandemic and the decrease in most face-to-face activities in higher education institutions and, consequently, a reduction in operating expenses.
The increase in expenditure on R&D by companies and institutions created the “growth of qualified employment and the effort of the private sector in developing scientific development and installed capacity in Portugal”.
Researchers among the active population also increase: In 2020, there were 10.3 researchers per thousand active people, compared to 9.6 in 2019 and 7.4 in 2015.
Full-time researchers also increased, reaching 53,174 full-time equivalent researchers, representing a 36% increase in the last 5 years.