The newest data shows that the business enterprise sector spent NOK 32 billion on own R&D in 2017, which is a growth of 8 per cent from 2016. The enterprises also bought external R&D services to the tune of NOK 7.5 billion, an increase of 7 per cent.

Adjusted for price change, the R&D expenditure in business enterprises increased by 7 per cent, according to new figures from the statistics Research and development in the business enterprise sector.

R&D expenditures in the business enterprise sector amounted to 0.97 per cent of GDP in 2017, compared with 0.95 per cent the year before. The final figures are somewhat lower than the preliminary figures published in October 2018.

More R&D to the fish farming industry

Figures for 2017 show a clear increase in R&D efforts in aquaculture. Looking back at 2007 shows that R&D expenditure in the fishing and aquaculture industry, as a whole, has tripled. Until 2013, R&D efforts were relatively stable, and this has been followed by strong growth in recent years.

In comparison, crude oil and gas extraction, another large industry, has grown by 32 per cent since 2007. This industry peaked in 2013 and has subsequently experienced some decline in R&D. The level of spending is nevertheless still high and amounted to NOK 1.7 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, the fishing and aquaculture industry spent NOK 1.1 billion in R&D.

Source: www.ssb.no