Research and development; personnel, expenditure, company size, branch

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Company size Sector/branches (SIC2008) R&D personnel Employed persons (number) R&D personnel Years of work (number) Expenditure R&D on in-house activities (mln euro) Enterprises with in-house R&D activities (number)
Total 10 Manufacture of food products 3,956 3,222 399 .
12 Manufacture of tobacco products . . . .
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 600 417 45 .
16 Manufacture of wood products 379 160 11 .
18 Printing and reproduction 219 136 9 .
22 Manufacture rubber, plastic products . . . .
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 5,204 2,698 273 .
25 Manufacture of metal products 4,222 1,997 172 .
26 Manufacture of electronic products 9,284 8,143 1,254 .
32 Manufacture of other products 1,414 1,009 80 .
59 Film, TV and music production etc . . . .
0 to 49 employed persons 10 Manufacture of food products . . . .
12 Manufacture of tobacco products . . . .
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 238 130 9 .
16 Manufacture of wood products . . . .
18 Printing and reproduction . . . .
22 Manufacture rubber, plastic products . . . .
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 1,909 818 54 .
25 Manufacture of metal products 1,767 772 51 .
26 Manufacture of electronic products 1,598 1,194 94 .
32 Manufacture of other products 770 514 35 .
59 Film, TV and music production etc . . . .
50 to 249 employed persons 10 Manufacture of food products 1,106 874 85 .
12 Manufacture of tobacco products . . . .
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 217 151 19 .
16 Manufacture of wood products 156 83 7 .
18 Printing and reproduction 110 91 6 .
22 Manufacture rubber, plastic products . . . .
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 2,013 785 63 .
25 Manufacture of metal products 1,860 697 56 .
26 Manufacture of electronic products 1,530 1,334 160 .
32 Manufacture of other products . . . .
59 Film, TV and music production etc . . . .
250 and more employed persons 10 Manufacture of food products . . . .
12 Manufacture of tobacco products 0 0 0 .
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 145 136 16 .
16 Manufacture of wood products . . . .
18 Printing and reproduction . . . .
22 Manufacture rubber, plastic products . . . .
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 1,282 1,095 156 .
25 Manufacture of metal products 595 527 65 .
26 Manufacture of electronic products 6,157 5,615 1,001 .
32 Manufacture of other products . . . .
59 Film, TV and music production etc . . . .
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table contains figures regarding enterprises that conduct in-house Research and Development (R&D) activities with own or external personnel. Additionally figures are available regarding the personnel and the expenditure related to these R&D activities.

The figures are broken down by company size and branch of industry according to the Standard Industrial Classification 2008 (SIC 2008).

The R&D activities are conducted in-house by own or external personnel in the Netherlands. Outsourced R&D is not included in this table. Furthermore, this table only concerns the "businesses" sector. The sectors "institutions" and "higher education" are not included in this table.

Data available from: 2013

Status of the figures:
The data regarding 2013-2021 are definitive and the data regarding 2022-2023 are revised provisional.

Changes as of 15 August 2025:
The revised provisional figures about 2023 have been published.

As of statistical year 2022, a new sample design and weighting method are used for this statistic. This makes the published data more accurate, but this change does mean that for the moment the figures on the number of R&D firms cannot be published yet.

When will new figures be published?
Mid 2026 the figures about 2024 will be published.

Description topics

R&D personnel
The personnel that conducts the in-house R&D activities, expressed in numbers of employed persons and years of work.
Employed persons
Someone working for a company located in the Netherlands, or for an institution or private household in the Netherlands.

In order to be included in the R&D personnel an employed person needs to spend at least 0,1 FTE annually on R&D related activities.

Employed persons are all persons having paid jobs, even for only one or some hours a week, and even if they:
- work legally as such, but without registration for income tax and social security (“undeclared work”);
- are temporarily not at work, but have continued receipt of wages or salary (for instance in case of illness or hold-ups due to frost);
- are on a temporary unpaid-leave.
Employed persons can be divided into employees and the self-employed persons. They can live in the Netherlands, but also abroad.

Years of work
A measure for the volume of work, calculated by converting all jobs (full-time and part-time) into full-time jobs, also known as full-time equivalents (FTE).

As such, when combined, the volume of work of two half jobs (0.5 FTE each) totals one year of work.
Expenditure R&D on in-house activities
Enterprises with in-house R&D activities