Gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) increased 32 billion 670 million TRY and reached to 101 billion 738 million TRY in 2021.

Share of GERD in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.40%

While the share of GERD in GDP was 1.37% in 2020, it was realized as 1.40% of 7 trillion 248 billion 789 million TRY GDP in 2021.

The most R&D expenditure was in financial and non-financial corporations

Financial and non-financial corporation had the largest share in research and development (R&D) expenditures with 61.3%, followed by higher education with 34.2%.

The share of general government R&D expenditures, including R&D expenditures made by private non-profit sector, in total R&D expenditures was 4.5%.

Among the R&D expenditures, personnel expenditures constituted the largest expenditure item with 48.9%.

Financial and non-financial corporations ranked first with 54.6% in R&D funding in 2021

The share of R&D expenditure funded by financial and non-financial corporations was 54.6% of GERD in 2021. This was followed by general government by 27.5%, higher education by 16.4%, funds from abroad by 1.5% and other national sources by 0.03% respectively.

221 thousand 811 R&D personnel was employed in terms of full-time equivalent

Total number of full time equivalent (FTE) R&D personnel was 221 thousand 811 in 2021. Regarding FTE R&D personnel distribution by sectors, 67.4% was employed in financial and non-financial corporations, 28.2% was employed in higher education and 4.4% was employed in general government including private non-profit sector as well in 2021.

The ratio of female R&D personnel was 32.1% in terms of full-time equivalent

Total number of female FTE R&D personnel was 71 thousand 301 in 2021 which constitutes 32.1% of total FTE R&D personnel. When the sectors were taken into consideration, the ratio of female R&D personnel in terms of FTE was 45.7% in higher education, 30.4% in the general government including non-profit organizations and 26.6% in financial and non-financial corporations.

31.2% of R&D personnel have doctorate or equivalent education status

It was observed that 34.9% of the R&D personnel had a bachelor level or equivalent. This was followed by doctorate or equivalent with 31.2%, master or equivalent level with 24.3%, short-cycle tertiary education level with 4.8% and upper secondary education level and below with 4.8%. When the FTE R&D personnel were analyzed by education levels, bachelor level ranked first with 48.0%. This was followed by master or equivalent level with 20.7%, doctorate and equivalent level with 18.3%, short-cycle tertiary education level with 6.7% and upper secondary education level with 6.3%.

The highest R&D expenditure was in TR10 (İstanbul) Region

According to Statistical Regions (SR) Level 2, R&D expenditure in 2021 was the highest in TR10 (İstanbul) region with 29.7%. This region was followed by TR51 (Ankara) by 28.2% and TR42 (Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova) by 9.2%.

According to number of R&D personnel, TR10 (İstanbul) region was in the first place with 29.5% share. This region was followed by TR51 (Ankara) with 19.3% and TR42 (Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova) with 8.0%.

53.5% of R&D expenditures of financial and non-financial corporations were performed in R&D centres

53.5% of the 62 billion 400 million TRY R&D expenditure made by financial and non-financial corporations in 2021 was realized in R&D centers. When the enterprises that are conducting R&D activities in R&D centers were analyzed according to the number of employees, it was seen that 85.1% of the R&D expenditures made in R&D centers were made by enterprises with 250 or more employees.

Most of the R&D expenditure was carried out by enterprises with hi-tech activities

When the enterprises that carry out R&D activities in the manufacturing industry are classified according to their technology levels, it was seen that 46.3% of the 35 billion 613 million TRY R&D expenditure made in the manufacturing industry in 2021 was carried out by the enterprises involved in high technology activities. This rate was 35.1% in 2015. Of the total R&D expenditure in the manufacturing industry, 39.6% was implemented by enterprises in medium-high technology activity, 9.6% by enterprises in medium-low technology activity and 4.5% by enterprises in low-tech activity.

When the number of researchers in the enterprises carrying out R&D activities in the manufacturing industry was examined, it was seen that the highest number of researchers were employed by enterprises carrying out medium-high technology activities with 24 thousand 630 people in 2021. This was followed by the employment of 16 thousand 720 researchers by enterprises carrying out high-tech activities. When the number of researchers in terms of FTE is taken into account, it was seen that the highest number of researchers were employed by enterprises carrying out medium-high technology activities with 22 thousand 299. (ILKHA)