Cyprus had one of the lowest shares of research and development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of its GDP in 2023, according to Eurostat data. However, the country showed some progress over the preceding decade, with R&D intensity increasing from 0.48% in 2013 to 0.68% in 2023.

At the EU level, member states collectively spent €381.4 billion on R&D in 2023, marking a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year (€357.4 billion) and a significant 57.9% growth from 2013 (€241.5 billion).

In Cyprus, provisional data indicates that R&D spending in 2023 reached €213.5 million, up from €207 million in 2022 and significantly higher than the €87.5 million recorded in 2013.

Across the EU, R&D intensity—defined as R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP—remained stable at 2.2% in 2023, unchanged from the previous year. Over the decade between 2013 and 2023, R&D intensity in the EU grew modestly by 0.1 percentage points (pp).

Nineteen EU countries recorded increases in R&D intensity during this period, with the largest gains observed in Belgium (+1.0 pp), Poland (+0.7 pp), and Greece (+0.7 pp).

In 2023, five EU countries achieved R&D intensity levels above 3%, with Sweden leading at 3.6%, followed by Belgium and Austria at 3.3% each. Germany and Finland recorded 3.1% each.

Conversely, five EU countries reported R&D intensity below 1%, including Romania (0.5%), Malta (0.6%), Cyprus (0.7%), Bulgaria, and Latvia (both 0.8%).

The business enterprise sector remained the largest contributor to R&D expenditure in the EU, accounting for 66% of total spending, or €253.1 billion, in 2023. This was followed by the higher education sector (€81.7 billion; 21%), the government sector (€41.0 billion; 11%), and the private non-profit sector (€5.5 billion; 1%).