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3.4Total R&D personnel

By Machteld Hoskens (KU Leuven), Maikel Pellens (KU Leuven), Laura Verheyden (KU Leuven), and Peter Viaene (WEWIS).

In 2023, the total number of R&D personnel for Flanders reached 70,635 full-time equivalents (FTE), which is an increase of 30% since 2018. Over the past five years, the number of research staff has increased both in companies and in the public sector. The public sector groups together all research institutes from the higher education sector (HES), the government sector (GOV), and the private not-for-profit sector (PNP). The majority of the R&D personnel (64.8%) work in the private sector (BES). The overall share of the public component (PNP, HES, and GOV) declined between 2013 and 2019, but stays rather stable since 2020. The HES component is the most important element of the public component (with 17,675 FTE or 71.2%) in 2023, followed by the GOV component (6,588 FTE or 26.5%). For the private sector numbers on externals contributing to R&D (in 2023 approx. 10,800 FTE) are excluded. 

Figure 1. Evolution of R&D personnel in FTE from 2015 to 2021

Private sectorPublic sector0 FTE10000 FTE20000 FTE30000 FTE40000 FTE50000 FTE60000 FTE70000 FTER&D personnel in FTE20152016201720182019202020210100002000030000400005000060000700002015201620172018201920202021Public sector: 20139 FTE Private sectorPublic sector0 FTE10000 FTE20000 FTE30000 FTE40000 FTE50000 FTE60000 FTE70000 FTER&D personnel in FTE20152016201720182019202020210100002000030000400005000060000700002015201620172018201920202021 Private sectorPublic sector0 FTE20000 FTE40000 FTE60000 FTER&D personnel in FTE201520162017201820192020202102000040000600002015201620172018201920202021

The level of R&D personnel corresponds to 1.22% (2023) of the total population and 2.56% (2023) of the labour force. In the international comparison, numbers for externals contributing to the R&D in the private sector (in 2022 approx. 11,600 FTE) are included in the total R&D personnel due to international standards of Eurostat.

Flanders therefore belongs to the top with regard to R&D personnel numbers as a proportion of the labour force. Denmark, Korea, and Finland also show high numbers, but Flanders still ranks a little higher. The Flemish number is much higher than the EU27 average.

Figure 2. International position of Flanders for total R&D personnel as % of labour force in 2021

ChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,00%0,20%0,40%0,60%0,80%1,00%1,20%1,40%1,60%1,80%2,00%2,20%Percentage R&D personnel of labour forceChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,000,200,400,600,801,001,201,401,601,802,002,20 ChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,00%0,50%1,00%1,50%2,00%Percentage R&D personnel of labour forceChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,000,501,001,502,00 ChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,00%0,50%1,00%1,50%2,00%Percentage R&D personnel of labour forceChinaRussiaSpainJapanItalyEU27FranceGermanySwedenNorwaythe NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandDenmarkKoreaFlanders0,000,501,001,502,00

* Spain, Italy,  EU27, Japan, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark: estimation; Japan, Austria, Spain: different definition; Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany: provisional number
* China: 2018; Italy: 2019; Belgium: 2020

Source: OECD database, Main Science and Technology Indicators.