What proportion of all companies are active in innovation? In this data publication, we show the number of innovative enterprises as a share of all enterprises in a number of EU countries over the period 2018-2020.
In short
- In the Netherlands, 55,8 percent of all business enterprises perform innovative activities. This is somewhat higher than the EU-27 average (52,7 percent).
- German, Belgian, Norwegian and Finnish companies are leaders in innovation in this comparison.
- Spanish and Polish companies score well below the EU average in this comparison.
| 2006-2008 | 2008-2010 | 2010-2012 | 2012-2014 | 2014-2016 | 2016-2018 | 2018-2022 | |
| Higher education | 10 | 7 | 11 | 14,5 | 9,2 | 10,2 | 8,5 |
| Research institutes | 7 | 5 | 7,6 | 7,6 | 4,8 | 6,1 | 6,3 |
Data: Download as CSV file
Source: EUROSTAT, based on the CIS-survey 2020
Notes: Once every two years the EU countries perform a so-called Community Innovation Survey (CIS). This survey is based on a harmonized questionnaire. The survey is conducted at the level of companies. Statistics Netherlands conducts the survey for the Netherlands.
Analysis
In the Netherlands, slightly over half of all business enterprises performs innovative activities. This share in the Netherlands is above the EU-27 average, but lower than some comparison countries.
For an explanation of the used definitions and abbreviations we refer to the webpage Definitions for Science in Figures.