Turkey's spending on R&D exceeds 81 billion TRY

Gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) increased by 26 billion 965 million TRY and reached to 81 billion 922 million TRY in 2021.

The share of GERD in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.13%

While the share of GERD in GDP was 1.09% in 2020, it was realized as 1.13% of 7 trillion 248 billion 789 million TRY GDP in 2021.

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

The financial and non-financial corporations had the largest share in research and development (R&D) expenditures with 70.7%, followed by higher education with 23.7%. The share of general government R&D expenditures, including R&D expenditures made by the private non-profit sector, in total R&D expenditures was 5.6%. Among the R&D expenditures, personnel expenditures constituted the largest expenditure item with 49.5%.

Financial and non-financial corporations ranked first with 62.4% in R&D funding in 2021

The share of R&D expenditure funded by financial and non-financial corporations was 62.4% of GERD in 2021. This was followed by the general government by 25.1%, higher education by 10.6%, funds from abroad by 1.9% and other national sources by 0.04% respectively.

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

The 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% were employed in financial and non-financial corporations, 28.2% were employed in higher education and 4.4% were employed in general government including the private non-profit sector as well in 2021.

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

The 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 a doctorate or equivalent education status

It was observed that 34.9% of the R&D personnel had a bachelor’s 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 the TR51 (Ankara) Region

According to Statistical Regions (SR) Level 2, R&D expenditure in 2021 was the highest in the TR51 (Ankara) region with 31.9%. This region was followed by TR10 (İstanbul) region by 28.5% and the TR42 (Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova) region by 9.8%.

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

52.9% of R&D expenditures of financial and non-financial corporations were performed in R&D centers

52.9% of the 57 billion 884 million TRY R&D expenditures 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 85.2% 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 47.5% of the 32 billion 773 million TRY R&D expenditures made in the manufacturing industry in 2021 were carried out by the enterprises involved in high technology activities. This rate was 35.3% in 2015. Of the total R&D expenditure in the manufacturing industry, 39.6% was implemented by enterprises in medium-high technology activity, 8.3% by enterprises in medium-low technology activity and 4.6% 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)