R&D spending share of GDP in European Union
Spending on research and development in the European Union was equal to 2.26% of GDP in 2024.
European Union is a group: European Union, 27 member states (composition from February 2020). The value is the aggregate published by Eurostat, not an average calculated on this site.
The latest value carries the source flag “Estimated”.
European Union, 2024
2.26%e (Estimated)
Change from 2023
+0.01percentage points
R&D spending share of GDP in European Union over time
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European Union
The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of GDP. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | European Union |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.26%e (estimated) |
| 2023 | 2.25%e (estimated) |
| 2022 | 2.22%e (estimated) |
| 2021 | 2.24%e (estimated) |
| 2020 | 2.28%e (estimated) |
| 2019 | 2.21%e (estimated) |
| 2018 | 2.17%e (estimated) |
| 2017 | 2.14% |
| 2016 | 2.10%e (estimated) |
| 2015 | 2.10% |
| 2014 | 2.09%e (estimated) |
| 2013 | 2.08%e (estimated) |
| 2012 | 2.06%e (estimated) |
| 2011 | 2.00%e (estimated) |
| 2010 | 1.96%e (estimated) |
| 2009 | 1.96%e (estimated) |
| 2008 | 1.87%e (estimated) |
| 2007 | 1.79%e (estimated) |
| 2006 | 1.80%e (estimated) |
| 2005 | 1.78%e (estimated) |
| 2004 | 1.79%e (estimated) |
| 2003 | 1.82%e (estimated) |
| 2002 | 1.83%e (estimated) |
| 2001 | 1.82%e (estimated) |
Flags: e estimated . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of +0.01 percentage points from 2.25% in 2023.
- Since 2014, when it was 2.09%, the figure has changed by +0.17 percentage points.
More for European Union
All statistics for European Union
R&D spending share of GDP
2.26%
2023 · World Bank
Researchers per million people
4,741 per million people
2023 · World Bank
Researchers as a share of the labour force
1.04%e (Estimated)
2024 · Eurostat
European patent applications
152.6ep (Source flag ep) per million people
2025 · Eurostat
Scientific and technical journal articles
558,077 articles
2023 · World Bank