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Swedish companies spend less on R&D

Vivian Tse
Vivian Tse - [email protected]
Swedish companies spend less on R&D

Swedish enterprises are spending less on research and development, with the majority of spending concentrated in the country's metropolitan areas.

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Spending on research and development among companies fell 2.6 billion kronor ($374.24 million) from 2007 to 78 billion kronor last year. However, the expenditures amounted to a 2.53 percent share of Sweden's GDP, a boost from 2.47 percent in 2007 in constant prices and at 2009's price levels.

Goods-producing enterprises increased their R&D expenses by roughly 2 billion kronor from 2007 to 2009, Statistics Sweden reported on Thursday. However, service-producing enterprises reduced their R&D expenses in the same time period by 5 billion kronor.

In 2009, 44 percent of all R&D expenses were within the industries of "manufacturing of computer electronics and optical equipment" and "motor vehicles and other transport means."

R&D activities of Swedish enterprises were carried out across Sweden and especially highly concentrated in the counties of large metropolitan cities.

A total of 58 percent of R&D expenditures took place in Stockholm and Västra Götaland, where Gothenburg is located, counties. Along with Skåne and Östergötland counties, enterprises in these four counties accounted for 82 percent of all R&D expenditures across the country.

Other counties of note included Uppsala, Jönkoping, Örebro and Västmanland. At the bottom of the list was Gotland, which only spent 9 million kronor on R&D in 2009.

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