8 December, 1999
Inquiries: Mr Mikael Åkerblom +358 9 1734 3270, Mr
Markku Virtaharju +358 9 1734 3290
Director in charge: Ms Kaija Hovi
Research and development expenditure grew by 13 per cent last year
A total of FIM 19.9 billion was spent on research and development in Finland in 1998. In real terms, this represents a growth of 13 per cent from 1997. The growth will also continue this year, when estimates put R&D expenditure at FIM 22.3 billion. The data derive from Statistics Finland's publication Tutkimus- ja kehittämistoiminta in Finland 1998 (Research and Development in Finland 1998).
In 1998, the R&D expenditure of enterprises amounted to FIM 13.4 billion, or two thirds of all research and development expenditure. Enterprises' R&D spending has been growing rapidly. In real terms, the increase from 1997 has been 15 per cent and compared to 1991 the spending has doubled. This year enterprises estimate their R&D expenditure to reach FIM 15.5 billion.
The research and development expenditure of universities and central university hospitals amounted to a total of FIM 3.9 billion last year. The R&D expenditure of the rest of the public sector totalled FIM 2.6 billion. In real terms, the university sector's R&D spending went up by approximately 11 per cent and that of the rest of the public sector by 6 per cent compared to 1997.
Proportion of GDP spent of R&D in Finland among the highest in the OECD
Last year, the proportion of GDP spent on R&D was 2.9 per cent in Finland. The proportion has been growing continually throughout the 1990s, and is forecast to reach 3.1 per cent this year.
Compared with the other OECD countries, Finnish R&D expenditure is quite small in volume. In 1997, Finland's share of the totalled up R&D expenditure of the OECD countries was only 0.6 per cent. In contrast, the relative proportion of GDP spent on R&D is in Finland among the highest in the OECD. In 1997, Sweden had the highest proportion of 3.9 per cent, while those of Japan (2.9%), Korea (2.9%) and USA (2.7%) were close to the Finnish level.
Two thirds of Finnish R&D expenditure originate in the sub-regional units of Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu. The sub-regional unit of Helsinki accounted for 44 per cent of the whole country's R&D expenditure in 1998. The sub-regional unit of Tampere accounted for the next largest proportion of 12 per cent. There is also strong concentration of R&D activity in the sub-regional units of Oulu (11%), Turku (6%) and Salo (4%).
Growth boosted by electrical industry
In the electrical industry, R&D spending in 1998 amounted to a total of FIM 6.8 billion, which is one half of all the R&D expenditure of enterprises. In real terms, research and development expenditure in the electrical industry went up by 23 per cent from 1997. In the metal and engineering industry, it went up by 11 per cent and in the chemical industry by 10 per cent.
The growth in the enterprise sector's R&D expenditure has taken place almost exclusively in enterprises in the electrical industry. In real terms, the electrical industry's R&D expenditure was nearly four-fold last year compared to 1991. Over the same time period, R&D expenditure in the metal and engineering and chemical industries has grown 1.3-fold. In other manufacturing industries, R&D expenditure has even shown slight decline.
Number of persons employed in R&D up by 10 per cent
A total of 60,900 persons were employed in R&D tasks in Finland last year. This represents an increase of 10 per cent from the year before. Almost one third of all R&D personnel were women. The proportion of women was distinctly larger in the public sector (45%) and universities (44%) than in enterprises (21%).
R&D expenditure (at current prices) by sector 1985-1998 and proportion of R&D of GDP
>
|
Enterprises |
Public sector |
University sector* |
Total |
Proportion of GDP*** |
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|
(incl. PNP) |
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|
At current |
At current |
At current |
At current |
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|
prices |
prices |
prices |
prices |
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|
FIM million |
% |
FIM million |
% |
FIM million |
% |
FIM million |
% |
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|
1985 |
3,082 |
58.7 |
1,069 |
20.4 |
1,097 |
20.9 |
5,248 |
. |
|||||||||
|
1987 |
4,002 |
58.9 |
1,389 |
20.5 |
1,401 |
20.6 |
6,792 |
. |
|||||||||
|
1989 |
5,499 |
61.6 |
1,701 |
19.1 |
1,726 |
19.3 |
8,926 |
. |
|||||||||
|
1991 |
5,798 |
57.0 |
2,126 |
20.9 |
2,248 |
22.1 |
10,172 |
2.04 |
|||||||||
|
1993 |
6,234 |
58.4 |
2,258 |
21.1 |
2,185 |
20.5 |
10,677 |
2.17 |
|||||||||
|
1995 |
8,166 |
63.2 |
2,226 |
17.2 |
2,524 |
19.6 |
12,916 |
2.30 |
|||||||||
|
1997 |
11,396 |
66.0 |
2,430 |
14.1 |
3,446 |
20.0 |
17,272 |
2.73 |
|||||||||
|
1998 |
13,395 |
67.2 |
2,639 |
13.2 |
3,911 |
19.4 |
19,945 |
2.91 |
|||||||||
|
1999** |
15,472 |
69.3 |
2,742 |
12.3 |
4,120 |
18.4 |
22,334 |
3.12 |
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|
* In 1997 and 1998 incl. university hospitals |
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|
** Estimate for 1999, based on planned R&D expenditure reported by enterprises and an Academy of Finland study of |
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|
State funding of R&D. |
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|
*** In compliance with the revised European System of Accounts (ESA 1995). GDP data for 1997 and 1998 |
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|
are preliminary, GDP data for 1999 are based on a Ministry of Finance forecast. |
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Statistics Finland has been compiling statistics on R&D activity every second year since 1971. Additional, interim surveys to collect key data on the R&D activities of the enterprise sector were carried out in 1994 and 1996. Since 1998, data on R&D activities have been collected annually.
Source: Tutkimus- ja kehittämistoiminta Suomessa 1998 (Research and Development in Finland 1998). Statistics Finland.