Government budget allocations for R&D 2017:
The Government is expected to allocate SEK 37 billion to R&D in 2017
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2017-04-06 9.30
Government funding for research and development (R&D) in the central government budget is expected to amount to SEK 36.7 billion in 2017. This corresponds to 3.8 percent of total appropriations in the central government budget, and 0.8 percent of the GDP. Government allocations to R&D are SEK 2.3 billion higher compared with the forecast for 2016.
Appropriations increased for several areas of expenditure
According to Statistics Sweden’s statistics, government funding to R&D is expected to increase by SEK 2.3 billion in current prices in 2017 compared with 2016. The areas of expenditure in the central government budget that are responsible for this increase are financial security for the sick and disabled, the judicial system, education, university research and the business sector. The main reason for the increase of the expected R&D funds is that the Government has increased funding. However, barely SEK 1 billion of the increase is due to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s development of new IT systems, which is now regarded to be included in the definition of R&D.
Half of all R&D funds are allocated to higher education
R&D appropriations in the central government budget are divided by recipient. According to Statistics Sweden’s forecast, 47 percent of R&D appropriations in the central government budget go to institutes of higher education. One third of the funds go to research-financed government agencies, one fifth goes to public administration, while defence authorities are expected to receive three percent of the total R&D budget. Government funding to R&D is expected to increase for all recipients, except the defence authorities, whose funding will decrease by SEK 65 million in 2017.
Most funding for medicine and health sciences within general advancement of knowledge
R&D funding is divided in terms of the objectives of the R&D. The objective for general advancement of knowledge is the single largest objective and accounts for nearly 70 percent of R&D funds in the central government budget. It is expected to increase by nearly SEK 500 million compared with last year. Universities, institutes of higher education and the Swedish Research Council are the main recipients of the funds with this purpose. General science development is divided into six research areas according to the 2011 Swedish Standard Classification of Research Subjects, in which the medicine and health science area accounts for the largest share.
Definitions and explanations
Research is a systematic work to find new knowledge or ideas with or without the aim of a particular purpose.
Development work is systematic work that uses research results, scientific knowledge or new ideas to bring about new material, goods, services, processes, systems, methods or significant improvements to those that already exist.
Next publishing will be
The next statistical news in this series is scheduled for publishing in April 2018.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.