A helium balloon, carrying a case with various measuring instruments, in Sembrancher, southwest Switzerland, in January 2021. It is part of an experiment to measure the composition of the air above it in order to better understand the phenomena of pollution accumulation in an alpine valley in winter.
Keystone / Laurent Gillieron
Switzerland spent CHF22.9 billion ($25.5 billion) on research and development in 2019. At 3.15% of GDP, this is above the OECD average of 2.38%.
Switzerland is currently ranked sixth in the 38-member OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) saidExternal link on Thursday. It is at a similar level to Germany and Austria, behind Israel (4.94% of GDP), South Korea and Sweden, and well ahead of France (2.19%).
In 2019, research and development received CHF1.8 billion more funding than in the previous FSO survey in 2017. This increase represents 4.3% per year between 2017 and 2019, compared with 1.2% per year between 2015 and 2017.
At the same time, research as a share of GDP rose slightly, from 3.03% to 3.15%.
FSO
At CHF15.5 billion, the private sector accounts for more than two-thirds (68%) of total research and development spending. Higher education institutions make up a large part of the remaining CHF6.6 billion.
Part of the research carried out in Switzerland is also financed by funding from abroad. In 2019, this amounted to CHF1.4 billion, mainly from private companies.
At the same time, Swiss money finances research abroad, amounting to CHF7.6 billion in 2019. A large part of this (CHF6.8 billion) comes from private companies and is mainly destined for companies in the same group. The remainder is contributed by the government to international programmes and projects, such as those of the European Space Agency.
Staff numbers
The number of people working in research in Switzerland has increased along with the money available. In 2019, the number of full-time equivalents was 8.4% higher than in 2017. The proportion of female researchers remained stable at around 36%.
The 133,000 people employed in research and development in Switzerland accounted for just under 86,000 full-time jobs in 2019, 56% of whom are researchers.
More
More
Pandemic reveals Switzerland’s weak spot in securing foreign talent
This content was published on
Switzerland is increasingly being challenged as a business location because of immigration restrictions. Could the pandemic be a turning point?
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Switzerland is Europe’s most innovative country, EU study finds
This content was published on
An annual analysis by the European Commission notes that the Swiss score dropped slightly this year, but not enough to cost it its top continental spot.
This content was published on
Following a drop already in 2023, the harvest volume again declined last year, as the importance of wood chips for energy production has increased.
Women’s Euro 2025 has been largely peaceful so far
This content was published on
After two weeks of football fever in various Swiss host cities, no major incidents have been reported so far, police say.
Planned solar park at Bern airport scaled back after talks
This content was published on
The ground-mounted plant at Belpmoos Airport outside the Swiss capital will be smaller than originally planned, the parties involved said on Tuesday.
Legal action filed against Swiss purchase of Israeli drones
This content was published on
Legal action aims to put an end to the delivery of the six Elbit reconnaissance drones already plagued by delays and setbacks.
Higher direct payments fail to curb scrub encroachment on alpine pastures
This content was published on
The scrub encroachment on Swiss alpine pastures leads to the loss of grassland and damages the typical landscape. It is also responsible for the decline in biodiversity. Despite higher direct payments, the bushes continue to spread.
Head of Swiss financial regulator’s Banks division quits
This content was published on
Thomas Hirschi, head of the Banks division of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA will leave at the end of August.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Are Big Pharma’s big innovation plans what we need?
This content was published on
Our analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: Big Pharma's R&D plans, coronavirus impact, and #cryptoleaks.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.