Companies and universities spent CHF24.6 billion ($27.2 billion) on research and development (R&D) activities in 2021, according to the latest figures. A total of 140,000 people were involved in innovation projects, says a bi-annual survey by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). “By international comparison, Switzerland is one of the economies with the highest R&D intensity,” ranking fourth behind Israel, South Korea and the United States, the FSO said on Thursday. R&D spending rose 4% since the last survey in 2019 with the lion’s share (68%) performed by companies or by universities (28%). The remaining R&D spending was by federal and non-profit bodies. The government contributes CHF6.6 billion to fund educational research. As a result of Switzerland being demoted in the European Union’s Horizon Europe research programme, fewer academic funds flowed into international research projects than in 2019.
