Latvia remains near the bottom of the EU’s R&D rankings
Today, 16:36
Although Latvia has shown a rising trend over the last ten years, it still sits well below most EU peers in terms of Research and Development (R&D) spending, a key driver of innovation, according to Eurostat data released on December 4.
In 2024, the EU collectively invested an estimated €403.1 billion in R&D, up 3.6% from 2023’s €389.2 billion. Since 2014, total R&D expenditure across the bloc has surged by 62.2% from €248.6 billion, demonstrating a consistent upward trajectory over the decade.
R&D intensity, which measures R&D expenditure as a share of GDP, held steady at 2.2% and remained in line with recent years. From 2014 to 2024, EU-wide R&D intensity increased by 0.1 percentage points.
Between 2014 and 2024, 19 EU member states saw gains in R&D intensity, with the most notable rises in Belgium (+1.0 pp), Greece (+0.7 pp), and both Estonia and Croatia (+0.6 pp each).
In 2024, six EU countries achieved an R&D intensity of 3% or higher, aligning with the EU’s target set by the European Council. Sweden led with 3.6%, followed by Belgium (3.4%), Austria (3.3%), Finland (3.2%), Germany (3.1%), and Denmark (3.0%).
Latvia’s R&D intensity registered under 1% in 2024, placing it among seven countries with sub-1% figures: Romania and Malta (0.5% each), Cyprus (0.7%), Bulgaria (0.8%), Latvia (0.9%), and Slovakia and Luxembourg (1.0% each). Nevertheless, Latvia’s figure represents an improvement from 0.6% a decade earlier.
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