Finland invests heavily in R&D. The unique infrastructure and support for research and development activities makes for a fruitful soil for innovation. Greater Helsinki is Finland’s R&D&I catalyst – it is the leading region in terms of R&D&I investment, workforce, research institutions and universities.
Research input in Finland is world class. In 2011 Finland invests about 7.3 billion Euros – about four percent of GDP – in R&D. The figure is the third highest in the world (after Sweden and Israel). Whilst this is led by the private (business) sector, Finland benefits from strong government support (public R&D investment is 1.2 percent of GDP) and an academic R&D framework, which works closely with business.
Finland’s unique innovation system comprises of governmental bodies, public research organisations, private companies as well as universities and universities of applied sciences. The Finnish workforce is highly educated – nearly a third has a tertiary degree.
In 2009 Finnish enterprises employed 41,262 R&D personnel in total. The main share of the Finnish enterprises’ university educated R&D personnel work in electrical and electronics industry (6,713 in 2009). The same applies to the employees with polytechnical degrees (5,986 in 2009)
Greater Helsinki is Finland’s R&D&I catalyst. The Helsinki Region is the leading region in terms of R&D&I investment, workforce, research institutions and universities. Greater Helsinki’s citizens are the most educated and skilled workforce in Finland.
