Vienna: Austria is poised to allocate approximately 3.34% of its GDP to research and development (R and D) activities this year, maintaining its position as one of the top investors in research within the European Union.
According to Emirates News Agency, an estimated 17.6 billion euros will be directed towards R and D in 2026, as reported by Statistik Austria. While this marks a slight decrease from the previous year's peak of 3.39%, Austria continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to research investment.
The funding for R and D in Austria is derived from multiple sources. Domestic companies are anticipated to contribute around 8.9 billion euros in 2026, which accounts for approximately 50% of the total research expenditure. This contribution includes a 7-percentage point benefit from tax-based research promotion through the research premium. The public sector is expected to allocate nearly 5.8 billion euros, representing 33% of the total R and D funding. Of this amount, 4.8 billion euros will be provided by the federal government, with the federal states contributing approximately 770 million euros. Additionally, around 2.9 billion euros (16%) will be financed from abroad, primarily through international corporate funding.
On a European scale, preliminary statistics for 2024 indicate that Sweden leads with a research intensity of 3.56%, followed by Belgium at 3.36%. Austria, with a research intensity of 3.34%, ranks third within the EU. Germany's research intensity stands at 3.13%, while major EU countries such as France and Italy have research intensities below the EU-27 average of 2.24%, at 2.18% and 1.38% respectively.