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Research and development in Sweden 2023

Sweden’s Higher education sector among the most research intensive in Europe

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2024-12-12 8.00

In 2023, the Higher education sector's R&D expenditure amounted to SEK 47.9 billion, 0.77 percent of GDP. The research intensity in Sweden's higher education sector is high in comparison with other countries within the EU/EFTA and only in Denmark was the Higher education sector’s proportion of GDP higher during 2023.

A majority of the R&D in the Higher education sector was externally funded. The external funding primarily came from the R&D funding agencies, of which the Swedish Research Council was the largest contributor. Combined, these agencies accounted for 35 percent of the sector’s external funding, which corresponds to approximately SEK 9.4 billion.

The R&D personnel by headcount decreased by around 1 100 to 40 000 between 2021 and 2023. However, R&D conducted by the personnel increased. In total, the R&D activity amounted to 21 700 full-time equivalents in 2023, compared to 20 200 full-time equivalents in 2021. Of this activity, men accounted for 53 percent and women for 47 percent.

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Statistics Sweden

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