EY survey: Switzerland ranked sixth for R&D expenditure

Switzerland came sixth in terms of total research expenditure in 2024, the EY survey revealed. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland is one of the world's leading countries for expenditure on research and development (R&D), a survey shows.

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In the ranking of the world’s top 500 companies by the consulting firm EY, Switzerland came sixth in terms of total research expenditure in 2024. It featured 14 Swiss companies, such as Roche and Novartis.

The Swiss companies analysed spent a total of €34 billion (CHF32 billion) on R&D. Roche alone is responsible for half of this (€16.1 billion)..

According to the authors of the study, Swiss companies have an above-average budget for innovation in an international comparison.

“This is a positive sign for Switzerland as a centre of research,” says Stefan Rösch-Rütsche, country managing partner at EY Switzerland.

US: R&D leader

When it comes to expenditure on R&D, the US is the clear leader (total expenditure $524 billion), with companies such as Amazon and Google. China and Hong Kong (€112 billion) and Japan (€88 billion) are also ranked in the top three for R&D expenditure.

Switzerland is preceded by Germany (4th place) and South Korea (5th). The Alpine nation is followed by the UK, France and the Netherlands.

While Switzerland ranks highly, investment has slowed: up by 1% compared to the previous year. Other countries have made a “more significant leap forward”, according to the study.

The Swiss companies included in the survey were Roche, Novartis, Nestlé, ABB, Aptiv, DSM-Firmenich, Sandoz, Alcon, Givaudan, Swisscom, Sika, Swatch, Holcim and Schindler.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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