Research and development; key figures per implementation sector
| Sectors | Periods | R&D personnel Employed persons (number) | R&D personnel Years of work (number) | Expenditure on R&D Expenditure R&D on in-house activities (million euro) | Expenditure on R&D R&D intensity (%) | Enterprises with in-house R&D activities (number) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sectors | 2013 | 195,127 | 135,555 | 14,239 | 2.16 | 20,135 |
| All sectors | 2014 | 194,942 | 136,174 | 14,595 | 2.17 | 20,341 |
| All sectors | 2015 | 202,501 | 139,382 | 14,808 | 2.15 | 20,260 |
| All sectors | 2016 | 207,461 | 144,482 | 15,235 | 2.15 | 20,674 |
| All sectors | 2017 | 209,488 | 150,399 | 16,081 | 2.18 | 19,957 |
| All sectors | 2018 | 216,965 | 156,849 | 16,550 | 2.14 | 19,554 |
| All sectors | 2019 | 226,732 | 160,422 | 17,760 | 2.18 | 20,104 |
| All sectors | 2020 | 231,570 | 166,422 | 18,494 | 2.32 | 20,271 |
| All sectors | 2021 | 238,985 | 173,667 | 19,752 | 2.27 | 19,917 |
| All sectors | 2022** | 251,211 | 183,533 | 21,628 | 2.26 | . |
| Businesses | 2013 | 146,165 | 95,108 | 9,299 | 1.41 | 19,692 |
| Businesses | 2014 | 144,689 | 94,612 | 9,444 | 1.41 | 19,877 |
| Businesses | 2015 | 151,385 | 97,443 | 9,515 | 1.38 | 19,798 |
| Businesses | 2016 | 157,018 | 102,614 | 10,008 | 1.41 | 20,159 |
| Businesses | 2017 | 157,844 | 107,496 | 10,667 | 1.45 | 19,484 |
| Businesses | 2018 | 164,144 | 112,807 | 10,998 | 1.42 | 19,031 |
| Businesses | 2019 | 171,143 | 115,124 | 11,846 | 1.46 | 19,548 |
| Businesses | 2020 | 172,993 | 118,355 | 12,314 | 1.55 | 19,720 |
| Businesses | 2021 | 177,810 | 123,627 | 13,048 | 1.50 | 19,387 |
| Businesses | 2022** | 191,662 | 133,950 | 14,806 | 1.54 | . |
| Institutions | 2013 | 11,322 | 8,116 | 848 | 0.13 | 380 |
| Institutions | 2014 | 11,577 | 8,325 | 889 | 0.13 | 401 |
| Institutions | 2015 | 12,128 | 8,335 | 900 | 0.13 | 399 |
| Institutions | 2016 | 12,019 | 8,568 | 923 | 0.13 | 452 |
| Institutions | 2017 | 12,121 | 8,553 | 907 | 0.12 | 410 |
| Institutions | 2018 | 12,899 | 9,326 | 971 | 0.13 | 461 |
| Institutions | 2019 | 13,472 | 9,336 | 1,014 | 0.12 | 495 |
| Institutions | 2020 | 13,549 | 9,635 | 1,038 | 0.13 | 489 |
| Institutions | 2021 | 13,955 | 9,567 | 1,080 | 0.12 | 468 |
| Institutions | 2022** | 12,621 | 9,113 | 1,034 | 0.11 | . |
| Higher education | 2013 | 37,640 | 32,331 | 4,092 | 0.62 | 63 |
| Higher education | 2014 | 38,676 | 33,237 | 4,262 | 0.63 | 63 |
| Higher education | 2015 | 38,988 | 33,604 | 4,393 | 0.64 | 63 |
| Higher education | 2016 | 38,424 | 33,300 | 4,304 | 0.61 | 63 |
| Higher education | 2017 | 39,522 | 34,350 | 4,506 | 0.61 | 63 |
| Higher education | 2018 | 39,922 | 34,716 | 4,581 | 0.59 | 62 |
| Higher education | 2019 | 42,117 | 35,963 | 4,900 | 0.60 | 62 |
| Higher education | 2020 | 45,027 | 38,433 | 5,142 | 0.65 | 62 |
| Higher education | 2021 | 47,220 | 40,473 | 5,623 | 0.65 | 62 |
| Higher education | 2022** | 46,928 | 40,469 | 5,778 | 0.60 | . |
| Source: CBS. | ||||||
Table explanation
This table contains figures regarding the personnel and the expenditure related to in-house Research and Development (R&D) activities that are conducted with own or external personnel.
The figures are provided for the following sectors:
- businesses
- institutions
- institutes of higher education
The R&D activities are conducted in-house by own or external personnel in the Netherlands. Outsourced R&D is not included in this table.
Data available from: 2013
Status of the figures:
The data regarding 2013-2021 are definitive and the data regarding 2022 are revised provisional.
The status of the figures in this table is related to the status of the figures on the gross domestic product (GDP). Until the GDP is definitive, the R&D intensity can be adjusted.
Changes as of 30 August 2024:
The figures about 2021 have been adjusted and are now definitive. The figures about 2022 have been adjusted and are now revised provisional.
As of statistical year 2022, a new sample design and weighting method are used for this statistic. This makes the published data more accurate, but this change does mean that figures on the number of R&D firms can only be published in 2025.
When will new figures be published?
In the fourth quarter of 2024 the provisional figures about 2023 will be published.
Description topics
- R&D personnel
- The personnel that conducts the in-house R&D activities, expressed in numbers of employed persons and years of work.
- Employed persons
- Someone working for a company located in the Netherlands, or for an institution or private household in the Netherlands.
In order to be included in the R&D personnel an employed person needs to spend at least 0,1 FTE annually on R&D related activities.
Employed persons are all persons having paid jobs, even for only one or some hours a week, and even if they:
- work legally as such, but without registration for income tax and social security (“undeclared work”);
- are temporarily not at work, but have continued receipt of wages or salary (for instance in case of illness or hold-ups due to frost);
- are on a temporary unpaid-leave.
Employed persons can be divided into employees and the self-employed persons. They can live in the Netherlands, but also abroad.
- Years of work
- A measure for the volume of work, calculated by converting all jobs (full-time and part-time) into full-time jobs, also known as full-time equivalents (FTE).
As such, when combined, the volume of work of two half jobs (0.5 FTE each) totals one year of work.
- Expenditure on R&D
- Expenditure on in-house R&D activities, expressed in millions of euros and as a percentage of the GDP (gross domestic product).
- Expenditure R&D on in-house activities
- R&D intensity
- Expenditure on in-house R&D activities as a percentage of the GDP (gross domestic product.
- Enterprises with in-house R&D activities