R&D spending in Turkey has approached 1 trillion liras in 10 years. During this period, the number of personnel working in R&D activities was 290,850. Expenditures in high technology exceeded 66 billion liras.
Approximately 1 trillion liras has been spent on R&D activities in Turkey in 10 years. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), R&D spending, the cornerstone of the defense industry and technology, broke a record in 10 years. While R&D expenditures were 17 billion 598 million liras in 2014, they increased to 22 billion 741 million liras in 2015. In 2021, R&D expenditures increased to 101 billion 738 million liras. Expenditures reached 198 billion 670 million liras in 2022 and reached a record level of 377 billion 542 million liras last year. Thus, R&D expenditures increased approximately 21.5-fold in the 2014-2023 period. While the ratio of gross domestic R&D expenditures to GDP was 1.01 percent in 2014, it was 1.42 percent of the 26 trillion 545 billion 722 million liras GDP in 2023. While more than half of the financing of R&D expenditures in the 10-year period was covered by companies, the state’s contribution to financing was around 32 percent. NUMBER OF PERSONNEL INCREASED The total number of R&D personnel increased by 135,406 during the period in question. The number of personnel in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) increased from 155,444 in 2014 to 290,850 in 2023. The number of female R&D personnel constituted 34.1 percent of the total R&D personnel with 99,195 people, while this share was 30.2 percent in 2014 with 34,826 people. RATE OF PERSONNEL WITH DOCTORATES INCREASED When the educational background of R&D personnel was examined last year, it was seen that 38.3 percent had a bachelor’s degree. This was followed by 31 percent with a doctorate or equivalent, 21.4 percent with a master’s degree, 4.9 percent with a vocational school, and 4.4 percent with a high school or below category. Last year, the region with the highest R&D expenditures was Ankara, just like in 2014. Ankara was followed by Istanbul and Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, and Yalova. HIGH-TECH EXPENDITURES HAVE INCREASED When we look at R&D expenditures by technology level in the manufacturing industry, it is seen that investments in medium-high technology led the way in the period from 2015, when data began to be kept, to 2017. With the influence of the steps taken by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in line with the National Technology Move, emphasis was placed on high-tech investments in the subsequent periods. In this context, while R&D expenditures in high technology were 2 billion 332 million liras in 2015, this figure increased 28-fold in 9 years, reaching 66 billion 265 million liras. THE HIGHEST R&D IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY When the enterprises conducting R&D activities are classified according to their technology levels, those engaged in high-technology activities stand out. Last year alone, it was seen that 47.5 percent of the 139 billion 469 million lira R&D expenditure in the manufacturing industry was made by enterprises in high-tech activities. Of the total R&D expenditure in the manufacturing industry, 40 percent was made by enterprises in medium-high-tech activities, 8.5 percent by enterprises in medium-low-tech activities, and 4 percent by enterprises in low-tech activities.
