Research and development; key figures per implementation sector

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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 2.14 20,135
2014 194,942 136,174 14,595 2.15 20,341
2015 202,501 139,382 14,808 2.12 20,260
2016 207,461 144,482 15,235 2.12 20,674
2017 209,488 150,399 16,081 2.14 19,957
2018 216,965 156,849 16,550 2.10 19,554
2019 226,732 160,422 17,760 2.14 20,104
2020 231,570 166,422 18,494 2.27 20,271
2021 238,985 173,667 19,752 2.22 19,917
2022** 251,211 183,533 21,628 2.18 .
2023* 261,454 192,873 23,780 2.23 .
Businesses 2013 146,165 95,108 9,299 1.40 19,692
2014 144,689 94,612 9,444 1.39 19,877
2015 151,385 97,443 9,515 1.36 19,798
2016 157,018 102,614 10,008 1.39 20,159
2017 157,844 107,496 10,667 1.42 19,484
2018 164,144 112,807 10,998 1.40 19,031
2019 171,143 115,124 11,846 1.43 19,548
2020 172,993 118,355 12,314 1.51 19,720
2021 177,810 123,627 13,048 1.46 19,387
2022** 191,662 133,950 14,806 1.49 .
2023* 197,981 140,096 16,643 1.56 .
Institutions 2013 11,322 8,116 848 0.13 380
2014 11,577 8,325 889 0.13 401
2015 12,128 8,335 900 0.13 399
2016 12,019 8,568 923 0.13 452
2017 12,121 8,553 907 0.12 410
2018 12,899 9,326 971 0.12 461
2019 13,472 9,336 1,014 0.12 495
2020 13,549 9,635 1,038 0.13 489
2021 13,955 9,567 1,080 0.12 468
2022** 12,621 9,113 1,034 0.10 .
2023* 13,365 9,566 1,168 0.11 .
Higher education 2013 37,640 32,331 4,092 0.61 63
2014 38,676 33,237 4,262 0.63 63
2015 38,988 33,604 4,393 0.63 63
2016 38,424 33,300 4,304 0.60 63
2017 39,522 34,350 4,506 0.60 63
2018 39,922 34,716 4,581 0.58 62
2019 42,117 35,963 4,900 0.59 62
2020 45,027 38,433 5,142 0.63 62
2021 47,220 40,473 5,623 0.63 62
2022** 46,928 40,469 5,778 0.58 .
2023* 50,108 43,211 5,969 0.56 .
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

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, the data regarding 2022 are revised provisional and the data regarding 2023 are 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 19 December 2024:
In 2024 Statistics Netherlands carried out a revision of the national accounts. This revision affects the R&D intensity figures published in this table. Those figures have now been adjusted. Additionally, the provisional figures about 2023 have been published.

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?
Mid 2025 the definitive 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