In 2016, Greek R&D expenditures totaled €1,733.1 million ($2,013.5 million), a 29.3% jump. The R&D Intensity indicator, representing R&D expenditure as a percent of GDP, increased two percentage points, as R&D expenditure accounted for 0.99% of GDP in 2016.

The business enterprise sector led R&D expenditures for the first time in Greece, with €722.9 million ($839.9 million), representing 0.41% of GDP. The public education sector followed, spending €566.6 million ($658.3 million) on R&D to represent 0.32% of GDP, while R&D expenditures in the public sector amounted to €428.9 million ($498.4 million), representing 0.25% of GDP. The private nonprofit sector contributed €14.8 million ($17.2 million) to R&D expenditures, making up 0.01% of GDP.

In total, public funding represented the majority, or 43%, of total 2016 R&D activity funding in Greece, accounting for €737.1 million ($856.4 million), and was the main source of funding for the higher education and public sectors. Funding from the business sector followed closely, contributing €691 million ($802.8 million), or 40%, of total R&D. The vast majority of this figure, €633.7 million ($736.2 million) was invested in R&D by businesses, while €42.1 million ($48.9 million) went towards funding R&D activities in the higher education sector, €14 million ($16.3 million) to the public sector and €2.2 million ($2.6 million) going to private nonprofit organizations. Funding from the EU increased due to the Horizon 2020 program, providing €207.6 million ($241.2 million), or 12%, of total R&D funding in 2016.

Source: Greek News Agenda