Field:

Research and Development in enterprises in 2013

R&D in surveyed enterprise groups

The surveyed Swedish-owned international enterprise groups conducted R&D worldwide for SEK 72.2 billion in 2013. This was a decrease of nearly SEK 5.3 billion compared to 2011, at the 2013 price level. The expenditure for R&D in Sweden was SEK 39.5 billion, a decrease compared to 2011. Nearly 55 percent of the enterprise group’s total R&D expenditure is spent in Sweden, and 39 percent of the groups’ person-years are carried out in Sweden.

R&D intensity measured as the number of R&D full-time equivalents as a percentage of the total number of employees was highest in Sweden for the Swedish-owned enterprise groups. R&D intensity in Sweden was 18.8 and abroad, 6.2 in the 2013 survey.

The surveyed Swedish-owned international enterprise groups carried out R&D for SEK 32.7 billion abroad, primarily in Europe, Asia and North America. Expenditures for R&D increased in Europe and North America and decreased in Asia and Oceania. However, the decrease in Asia is primarily due to changes in the surveyed population.

R&D in foreign (formerly Swedish) enterprise groups

In 2013 the surveyed foreign-owned enterprise groups’ expenditures were nearly SEK 28 billion in Sweden. Approximately 40 percent of the enterprise group’s total R&D expendi-ture is spent in Sweden which is about the same share as in former surveys.

R&D in Swedish and foreign companies in Sweden

In 2013 the business enterprise sector accounted for 69 percent of the total R&D expendi-tures in Sweden. The higher education sector represented 27 percent and the government sector R&D accounted for 4 percent of the remaining portion. Business enterprise sector R&D is highly concentrated to a small number of large international enterprise groups.

39 percent of R&D-activities in the Swedish business sector were carried out by foreign-owned companies. The largest proportions of foreign-owned companies’ R&D expenditure in Sweden came from firms with parent companies located in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Other major countries were the United States and Switzerland. The Swedish-owned international enterprises accounted for 49 percent and the domestic enterprises accounted for 12 percent of the total R&D expenditures in the Swedish business sector.

Research and Development in enterprises in 2013

Serial number: Statistics 2015:03

Reference number: 2015/128

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