Press Release: Statistics on Biotechnology Use. Year 2023. Final results.

Main results

Internal R&D expenditure increased by 7.1% in 2023, reaching 2,749 million euros.
The full-time equivalent personnel dedicated to internal R&D activities in Biotechnology was 35,793.8. 58.5% were women.

More information

Expenditure in internal R&D activities related to Biotechnology reached 2,749 million euros in 2023, an increase of 7.1% as compared with the previous year. This expenditure represented 12.3% of the total spending on internal R&D activities.

By execution sector, expenditure in the Higher Education sector increased by 19.7% and expenditure in the Business sector increased by 4.9%.

Regarding the total expenditure on internal R&D activities in Biotechnology, the Business sector showed the highest percentage (46.7% of the total). Behind them were Public Administration (28.7%), Higher Education (24.2%) and Private Non-Profit Institutions (IPSFL), with 0.4%.

Expenditure on internal R&D in Biotechnology by execution sector

Year 2023. Thousands of euros

Financing of Internal R&D

Internal R&D activities related to Biotechnology were financed in 2023, mainly by the Public Administration (42.4% of the total) and the Business sectors (41.7%).

Expenditure on internal R&D in Biotechnology by execution sector and financing

Year 2023. Thousands of euros

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Employment in internal R&D activities related to Biotechnology

In 2023, the full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel dedicated to internal R&D activities in Biotechnology was 35,793.8. 58.5% of the personnel were women.

The research collective consisted of 22,776.0 individuals as FTE personnel. 55.5% were women.

Personnel employed in internal R&D activities in Biotechnology by execution sector, occupation, and sex

Year 2023. Full-time Equivalence.

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Application areas of Biotechnology

Among the final application areas of products obtained from the use of different types of biotechnologies, Human Health and Food stood out, accounting for 52.3% and 31.1% of the total units, respectively.

Units with biotechnological activities, according to final application areas of Biotechnology

Year 2023. Percentage

Data by Autonomous Community

The Autonomous Communities with the highest expenditure on internal R&D activities in Biotechnology in 2023 were Cataluña (30.9% of the total), Comunidad de Madrid (26.8%) and Andalucía (9.4%).

Expenditure on internal R&D in Biotechnology by autonomous communities, according to execution sector

Year 2023. Thousands of euros

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    "9.4",
    "92,506",
    "7.2",
    "166,632",
    "11.4",
    "44,774",
    "1.6",
    "20,099",
    "1.6",
    "24,675",
    "1.7",
    "27,405",
    "1.0",
    "5,875",
    "0.5",
    "21,530",
    "1.5",
    "17,007",
    "0.6",
    "5,599",
    "0.4",
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    "0.8",
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    "0.8",
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    "0.8",
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(*) Rest of sectors: Public Administration, NPPI and Higher Education.
(.) Numeric data equal to zero not resulting from rounding.
(..) Data not available due to statistical confidentiality.

Reviews and data updates

The data published today are final. All results are available on INEBase.

Methodological note

The objective of the Statistics on the use of Biotechnology is to measure national efforts in biotechnology-related activities, in order to provide the necessary information for adequate decision-making in scientific-technological policy.

In this regard, the objective is to ascertain the type of biotechnology-related activities that are carried out in each of the sectors in which the economy is divided; the final application areas of the products obtained via the development of biotechnologies; and the economic and human resources appointed to the biotechnology-related productive and investigation activity in Spain.

Type of survey:: annual continuous survey.
Population scope:: the group of companies, public bodies, universities or higher education centres and private non-profit institutions (IPSFL) that use Biotechnology in their activities.
Geographical scope:: the entire national territory.
Reference period:: the calendar year.
Collection method:: mixed, involving sending questionnaires via postal mail and online completion.

For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.