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Greek research spending near 1 pct of GDP for first time in 2015

Greece spent a record amount on research and development as a percentage of its economy in 2015, reaching the historic high of 0.96 pct of GDP, according to official provisional figures sent to Eurostat on Wednesday.

According to the National Documentation Centre at the National Hellenic Research Foundation, R&D spending in Greece has been growing steadily in recent years, both in absolute terms and as expressed in GDP. Spending on R&D came to 1.64 billion euros in 2015, up from 1.49 billion euros in 2014 and 1.39 euros in 2011. The "R&D Intensity" index, expressed as a percentage of GDP, has also risen steadily, from 0.67 pct in 2011 to 0.84 pct in 2014 and 0.96 pct in 2015.
This significant increase has helped greatly improve Greece's ranking among EU member-states for R&D Intensity, bringing it from 20th to 16th place.
The biggest contribution to the increase was made by tertiary and post-secondary educational institutions, which spent 643.8 million euros or 0.37 pct of GDP. Business accounted for another 561.4 million euros (0.32 pct of GDP) and the state sector for 465.5 million euros (0.26 pct of GDP). Private non-profit foundations contributed the smallest percentage at 13.2 million euros or 0.01 pct of GDP.