Investment in R&D reached €3.203 billion in 2020

Portugal recorded total expenditure of €3.203 billion on R&D activities in 2020, representing 1.58% of national GDP according to the provisional results of the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN20). This figure represents an increase of 7% (€211 million) compared to 2019, with continued growth in R&D investment for the fifth consecutive year.

More than 4,300 companies registered R&D activities in 2020, which meant an increase of 541, representing a further 14% compared to 2019. Company investment in R&D also grew again, rising 15%, compared to 10% in 2019, with company spending on R&D activities representing €1.811 billion in 2020, which translates to 0.89% of GDP and 57% of total expenditure.

The number of researchers in the active population grew in 2020, with 10.2 researchers per thousand active workers, compared to 9.6 in 2019. There were 52,535 full-time equivalent (FTE) researchers, about 2,369 more than in 2019. Higher education includes 28,732 FTE researchers, around 55%, while companies include 21,389, 41% of the total. The number of researchers in companies grew by 2,169 FTEs, an increase of 11% in 2020, and in the state sector, which includes state laboratories, the number of researchers continues to represent around 3% of the total, with 1,601 FTEs.

The total number of human resources in R&D activities (i.e., total number of researchers, technicians, and other professionals) reaches 12.7 people (FTE) per thousand active inhabitants, reaching 65,356 FTEs in 2020. In companies, the number of human resources in R&D activities also grew by more than 3,400 (an increase of 13%), totaling 30,206 FTEs in 2020.

These figures are revealed by provisional data from the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN) for 2020, published by the Directorate-General for Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC), based on methodologies harmonized internationally by EUROSTAT and the OECD.

The National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN) is an annual census that has been conducted since 2007 (it was biennial since 1982) and constitutes the basis for official statistical information on human and financial resources allocated to R&D activities in Portugal. The final data will be released by the DGEEC in due course after final validation of all the results of this statistical operation.

Graph: source MCTES