Research and Development Activity, Slovenia, 2019

R&D investments record high
According to provisional data, gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) in Slovenia in 2019 reached a record high of EUR 989.3 million, which is 10.8% more than in 2018 and 5.8% more than in the best year ever up to now (2013). This is the second consecutive increase by more than EUR 90 million in nominal terms and by more than 10% in relative terms. The share of GERD in GDP¹ in 2019, according to provisional data, stood at 2.0%.

Business enterprise sector spent 73.8% of R&D funds
The largest part of R&D funds in 2019 was as in the previous years spent in the business enterprise sector. According to provisional data, its expenditure on R&D in 2019 amounted to EUR 729.8 million, which is 73.8% of GERD or 1.5% of GDP in 2019. The rest of GERD was spent by other sectors: 13.8% by government, 11.8% by higher education and 0.6% by private non-profit. Compared to 2018, expenditure on R&D in 2019 increased in all sectors of performance, in absolute terms the most in the business enterprise sector (by EUR 67.4 million) and relatively the most in the private non-profit sector (by 103.6%).²

Business enterprises provided 61.4% of R&D funds
As in the previous years, business enterprises provided the biggest financial support for R&D, according to provisional data EUR 607.8 million, which is 61.4% of GERD, followed by the government (24.8%) and the rest of the world (13.3%), while higher education and private non-profit organizations together funded half percent of GERD. The structure of financial resources for R&D in 2019 was almost the same as in 2018. In absolute terms R&D funding in 2019 compared to 2018 increased the most by business enterprises (by EUR 49.1 million) and relatively the most by the government (by 15.8%).

More than 25,000 persons engaged in R&D
In 2019, 25,072 persons were engaged in R&D in Slovenia, which is 6.1% more than in 2018. Compared to 2018, more persons were involved in R&D in 2019 in all sectors of employment, except in higher education, where a 2.2% decrease was recorded.³ The total workload of R&D personnel in 2019 was record high and equivalent to work of 16,984 full-time employed persons, which is by 8.3% more than in 2018, in the most work-intensive year so far. As in the previous years, in 2019, researchers, followed by technical personnel (26.4%) and other supporting staff (11.8%), performed the leading share, namely 61.8%, of R&D workload. 

¹ Share of GBARD in GDP is calculated based on the latest available revision of GDP.
² The relative increase in the private non-profit sector's R&D expenditure in 2019 was the result of new units that were reclassified from the business enterprise sector to the private non-profit sector (as their institutional sector code according to SKIS in 2019 changed).
³ The decline in R&D personnel, expressed in head counts, in the higher education sector was mostly due to more consistent use of the methodology by data providers (i.e. more consisten application of the rule requiring the exclusion of persons involved in R&D for less than 10% of their working time).