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  1. Science and space9 countries

    Europe 2020 research spending targets: of 9 countries, 2 met theirs, Belgium and Germany

    • Belgium: target 3%3.37
    • Germany: target 3%3.09
    • Denmark: target 3%2.97
    • Sweden: target 4%3.5
    • Austria: target 3.76%3.21
    • Finland: target 4%2.93
    • France: target 3%2.27
    • Slovenia: target 3%2.16
    • Estonia: target 3%1.73

    Research spending in 2020, % of GDP

    Did it come true?Came true: 2 of 9

    Of 9 countries, 2 met theirs, Belgium and Germany.

    Belgium: target 3%3.37Germany: target 3%3.09Denmark: target 3%2.97Sweden: target 4%3.5Austria: target 3.76%3.21Finland: target 4%2.93France: target 3%2.27Slovenia: target 3%2.16Estonia: target 3%1.73

    Finland and Sweden aimed for 4% of GDP and spent 2.93% and 3.5%. Estonia, aiming for 3%, spent 1.73%; France, 2.27%.

    Source: Quotes from primary sources, facts from official statistics (links on the back)Open on the chart →
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    Under the Europe 2020 strategy the EU wanted to spend 3% of GDP on research and development, and in 2011 each country named its own target. Here are nine countries with targets of 3% or more and what they spent in 2020, government and companies together.

    A row is one promise: who, what and by when. The question is whether at least half came true. Answer Yes or No, or just open the answer: each row gets its outcome and what actually came of it, the card a stamp counting those that came true. Quotes and links to the facts are below.

    Targets: the EU countries’ 2011 national reform programmes, as compiled by the European Commission. Fact: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UNESCO Institute for Statistics data), GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS, linked on the back for each row. Outcome: «came true» — the promised number reached by the deadline («about» within 5%), an event happened before the end of the year promised; «exceeded» — with room to spare; «nearly» — short by no more than 10%; «late» — reached, but after the deadline; «did not come true» — not reached; «came true, then undone» — reached, then reversed. The deadline is the end of the year named.

    Denmark fell 0.04 percentage points short. Finland spent less in 2020 than in 2011, when it set the target: the share fell after the electronics slump. The EU as a whole spent about 2.3% of GDP in 2020.

    A question for this picture

    Why did the countries with the highest targets fall furthest short of them?

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