South West invests most in research and development

Proportion of the gross domestic product for investment in research and development

Baden-Württemberg invests 5.1 percent of its gross domestic product in research and development (R&D). In comparison to 97 other European regions, the South West holds the top position by far with this figure, discloses the Statistical Office Baden-Württemberg. "Baden-Württemberg's strength lies in its eagerness for innovation. No other state in the European Union possesses such a large innovation potential. We want to build further on this lead," says the Minister of Finance and Economics, Nils Schmid. The state government has invested a larger amount of money than ever before: in the budgeting department of the Ministry of Finance and Economics alone, 165 million euros have been assigned to business-related technology and innovation funding in the current biennial budget. "Thereby we are investing in the future of Baden-Württemberg and are securing jobs in the state," says Schmid.

Research is the provision for the future
According to Science Minister Theresia Bauer, in addition to the private economy investments, particularly the universities played a crucial role in Baden-Württemberg's innovative strength. "Our universities educate highly qualified professionals and develop new ideas together with companies. As innovation begins with science, investments in research and teaching are the best provisions for the future," says the Minister. The EU-wide ranking compares the R&D intensity of 98 European regions. The R&D intensity is the proportion of the expenditure on research and development of the gross domestic product of a state, a region or an industrial sector (in percent). According to the Statistical Office, Baden-Württemberg is in 1st place with 5.1. percent, followed by the region of southern Austria in 2nd place (with R&D intensity at 3.9 percent), the Swedish region Östra Sverige in 3rd place (with 3.9 percent), the Finnish region Manner-Suomi (with 3.8 percent) in 4th place and the East of England region in 5th place (with 3.7 percent). In comparison, research intensity in the 28 EU member states is roughly 2.0 percent and in Germany it is roughly 2.9 percent.