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Government support for R&D, in % of GDP

data publication
08 May 2025
R&D government business Innovation
To be able to compare the Dutch government support for R&D with other countries, we look at the government contribution as a percentage of GDP. In this data publication we look at the direct government contribution, at the indirect government support, and at the government support for R&D of companies.

In short

  • Direct Dutch government support for R&D is slightly above the European average.
  • Nine countries provide more indirect (fiscal) government support.
  • There is a large variation in the extent of public support for companies, with the Netherlands in a middle position.

Direct government support for R&D

Explanatory note
If we look at the direct government contribution to R&D (the figure above), we see that the Netherlands is comparable to Norway. Several governments of reference countries spend more on direct support than the Netherlands.

Direct and indirect government support for R&D

Explanatory note
The figure above shows that the level of fiscal support indirect (fiscal) government support in the Netherlands is average. While the percentage of bbp for the Netherlands is equal to the OECD average and slightly above the EU-27 average, nine countries hoave a higher level of fiscal government support for business R&D. There are major differences between countries in the scope of the tax support. In 2023, fiscal support as a percentage of GDP ranged from no fiscal support for Switzerland to 0.30 percent of GDP for the United Kingdom (2022 figure). The percentage for the Netherlands was 0.13. If we take direct and indirect support together, we see that the Netherlands is just above the average of EU-27 countries.

Direct and indirect government support for R&D of business enterprises

Explanatory note
The figure above focuses on the public support of R&D of companies, which consists of direct financial support and indirect fiscal support. The figure shows that:

  • there is a large variation in the extent of public support for companies, with the Netherlands in a middle position;
  • the share of fiscal support varies. For the Netherlands, at 55%, the share of business support is slightly low.