New figures released this month by the Turkish Statistics Institute show that Turkey’s domestic R&D grew 20.4% in 2011 to TRY 11,154 million ($6,374 million = TRY 1.75 = $1), following a 14.6% increase in 2010. Labor, “other current costs” (non-capital materials and supplies, administrative costs, indirect service), instruments and equipment, and land and buildings represented 51%, 33%, 12% and 4% of the country’s total R&D costs last year.

The business sector accounted for 46% of Turkey’s R&D funding in 2011 and was the second largest R&D performer at 43%. The amounts of R&D performed by business and business R&D funding each grew 22.2% last year. The number of R&D researchers in the business sector rose 18.1% to 35,191 to make up 26% of the country’s researchers. Manufacturing accounted for 53% of business R&D spending.

Turkey’s higher education sector was the largest R&D performer last year at 46%, up 19.0%. However, higher education accounted for only 3% of R&D funding, a 28.3% increase. The number of researchers in higher education grew 8.3% in 2011 to make up 69% of all researchers. By field, the largest share of high education R&D spending went to the medical sciences at 33%.

Government performed 11% of Turkish R&D last year, a 19.1% increase, and represented 30% of R&D funding, a 14.2% increase. However, in 2011, the number of government researchers declined 0.4%, to 7,073. By socio-economic objectives, 22% of R&D performed by the government was for “exploration and exploitation of the earth,” 21% was for agriculture, and 19% was for “industrial production and technology.”

Additional sources of R&D funding were “other” and foreign sources, which accounted for 3% and 1%, respectively.

 Column Chart: Turkey’s Domestic R&D Expenditures

 by Performing Sector

          High Education          Business           Government

 2009           3,835.70          3,235.30           1,016.50

 2010           4,264.00          3,942.90           1,060.70

 2011           5,073.40          4,817.30           1,263.50

 Column Chart: Number of R&D Researchers in Turkey by Sector

          High Education          Business           Government

 2009             83,281            24,523           6,632

 2010             87,897            29,800           7,099

 2011             95,188            35,191           7,073