Investment in R&D reaches R$2.987 million in 2019

Provisional results of the Survey on National Scientific and Technological Potential (IPCTN19) reveal that last year the largest investment ever in Research and Development (R&D) was recorded in Portugal. Total expenditure on R&D activities reached R$2,987 million, R$218 million more than in 2018, representing 1.41% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the highest value ever for investment in R&D in Portugal.

This increase in investment is particularly significant in the business sector, which grew 10% between 2018 and 2019, representing 0.74% of GDP in 2019. This data reinforces the trend of business growth in R&D, which is reflected in the growth of qualified employment in companies and in the private sector's effort to keep up with scientific development and the technological capacity installed in Portugal.

Higher education also increased its investment in R&D, growing by around 5% in 2019, also reaching a new high of 1,209 million euros.

Another important element for characterizing the scientific and technological system is the number of researchers in the active population, which has also grown. In 2019 there were 10 researchers for every thousand active people, while in 2018 there were 9.1 for every thousand active people, in 2017 there were 8.6 and in 2016 there were 8.

In total, 50,431 researchers were registered in full-time equivalent (FTE), 2,779 more than in 2018, which reflects a growth of 11,759 FTE researchers since 2015, that is, an increase of 30% in the last 4 years. In Higher Education there are 29,027 researchers in FTE, representing 58% of the total, while companies include 19,283 researchers in FTE, representing 38% of the total. The number of researchers in companies increased by 2,537 FTE, representing an increase of 15% between 2018 and 2019.

In the State sector (which includes State Laboratories) there were 1,591 researchers in FTE last year, representing 3% of the total.

The total number of human resources in research and development activities (researchers, technicians and other professionals) is 12 people (FTE) for every thousand active inhabitants.

The provisional results of the IPCTN19 are published by the Directorate General of Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC) based on methodologies internationally harmonised by EUROSTAT and the OECD.

Chart: source MCTES