The key findings of the study can be summarized as follows:

• Expenditure on research and development (R&D) in Germany has risen significantly since 2005.
• At 3.17%, R&D expenditure in relation to GDP before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic was significantly higher than in similarly sized European countries and China.
• The government’s share of R&D expenditure is falling, while the business sector’s share is rising to 64%.
• R&D expenditure is concentrated in a few sectors of the manufacturing industry and in large companies.

KfW study on the development of R&D expenditure in Germany