Statistical News Release

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Expenditure on research and development

13/07/2010

Scotland's Chief Statistician today released Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) Scotland 2008. The publication includes the latest statistics to 2008 on Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD), which comprises that undertaken by business, higher education and government sectors. Regional and international comparisons are included.

The main findings are:

Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD)

  • GERD in Scotland was £1,778 million in 2008, 6.9% per cent of the UK total and an increase of £37 million since 2007. This represents a real terms decrease of 0.4 per cent since 2007.
  • GERD was 1.55 per cent of Scottish GDP in 2008, compared to 1.79 per cent for the UK, 1.81 per cent for the EU and 2.33 per cent for the OECD.

Business Enterprise R&D (BERD)

  • BERD expenditure in Scotland was £547 million in 2008, 3.4 per cent of the UK figure and an increase of £14 million since 2007. This represents a real terms increase of 0.1 per cent since 2007.
  • BERD expenditure was 0.48 per cent of Scottish GDP in 2008, compared to 1.11 per cent for the UK, 1.13 per cent for the EU and 1.63 per cent for the OECD.

Higher Education R&D (HERD)

  • HERD expenditure in Scotland was £939 million in 2008, 13.8 per cent of the UK figure and an increase of £69 million since 2007. This represents a real terms increase of 5.3 per cent since 2007.
  • HERD expenditure was 0.82 per cent of Scottish GDP in 2008, compared to 0.47 per cent for the UK, 0.42 per cent for the EU and 0.39 per cent for the OECD.

Government R&D (GoveRD)

  • GoveRD expenditure in Scotland was £292 million in 2008, 12.4 per cent of the UK figure and a decrease of £46 million since 2007. This represents a real terms decrease of 15.7 per cent since 2007.
  • GoveRD expenditure was 0.25 per cent of Scottish GDP in 2008. In comparison to other regions within the UK, Scotland ranks fourth in terms of government R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

This publication presents the most recent data for Gross Expenditure R&D (GERD) in 2008 - and revised data for 2006 and 2007.

GERD forms the basis of the National Indicator: At least halve the gap in total research and development spending compared with EU average by 2011.

The decrease in Scottish GovERD is largely due to the reclassification of a large R&D employer in Scotland from the government sector to the higher education sector.

Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff.

Page updated: Tuesday, July 13, 2010