The Scottish Government

Business Expenditure and Employment on Research & Development 2007

• BERD expenditure in Scotland in 2007 was £513 million, 3.2% of the UK total of £16.1 billion.
• Expenditure increased from £461 million the previous year (a 8.3% increase in real terms).
• There was a decrease in expenditure on services R&D, while there was a modest increase in expenditure on manufacturing R&D and a proportionally higher increase in expenditure on R&D in other sectors such as extractive industries.
• BERD expenditure was 0.46% of Scottish GDP in 2007, compared to 1.13% in the UK and 1.12% in the EU.
• Business R&D provided employment for 6,707 people in 2007.
• Nearly two thirds (62%) of R&D undertaken by businesses in Scotland was funded by UK businesses.
• The largest companies (400 employees and over) accounted for 66% of BERD expenditure.
• American owned firms undertook 39% of business R&D in Scotland, followed by Scottish owned firms (29%).

Gross Expenditure on Research & Development (GERD) 2007

• Gross R&D expenditure (GERD) in Scotland was £1,710 million in 2007, which is 6.7% of the UK total and an increase of £189 million since 2006.
• GERD was 1.52% of Scottish GDP in 2007, compared to 1.79% in the UK, 1.77% in the EU and 2.29% in the OECD.

Higher Education Research & Development (HERD) 2007

• In 2007 Higher Education expenditure on R&D (HERD) was £870 million, 13.4% of the UK total and 0.78% of GDP.
• Scotland's HERD as a percentage of GDP ranked top out of all the UK regions, and ranks highest among the OECD countries.

Government Expenditure on Research & Development (GovERD) 2007

• Government expenditure on R&D was £329 million in 2007, 14.6% of the UK total and 0.29% of GDP.
• In comparison to other UK regions, Scotland ranks third in terms of GovERD as a percentage of GDP.