Numbers and Figures

R&D expenditure, total

Expenditure on R&D in the Länder (in billion euros) and as a percentage of GDP, 2023

relative absolute
Land in % in billion Euro
Baden-Württemberg 5.71 36.10
Bavaria 3.41 26.41
Berlin 3.07 6.10
Brandenburg 1.48 1.43
Bremen 2.84 1.15
Hamburg 2.65 4.10
Hesse 3.01 10.68
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1.37 0.81
Lower Saxony 2.74 10.10
North Rhine-Westphalia 2.28 19.39
Rhineland-Palatinate 3.56 6.43
Saarland 1.64 0.69
Saxony 2.26 3.57
Saxony-Anhalt 1.44 1.14
Schleswig-Holstein 1.53 1.87
Thuringia 2.60 1.99

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D represents all funds used to carry out domestic R&D, regardless of the source of funding. The ratio of R&D expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) is known as R&D intensity.


R&D expenditure, higher education

R&D expenditure at universities (in billion euros) and as a percentage of GDP, 2023

relative absolute
Land in % in billion Euro
Baden-Württemberg 0.51 3.21
Bavaria 0.47 3.61
Berlin 0.86 1.70
Brandenburg 0.42 0.40
Bremen 0.71 0.29
Hamburg 0.58 0.89
Hesse 0.47 1.67
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 0.58 0.35
Lower Saxony 0.50 1.84
North Rhine-Westphalia 0.58 4.97
Rhineland-Palatinate 0.45 0.81
Saarland 0.63 0.27
Saxony 0.82 1.30
Saxony-Anhalt 0.62 0.49
Schleswig-Holstein 0.46 0.57
Thuringia 0.87 0.67

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Higher education expenditure on R&D represents the component of gross domestic expenditure on R&D incurred by units in the higher education sector. The higher education sector includes all universities, universities of applied sciences and other institutions providing formal tertiary education programmes, whatever their source of finance or legal status, and all research institutes, research centres, experimental stations and clinics that have their R&D activities under the direct control of, or are administered by, tertiary education institutions.


R&D expenditure, government

Expenditure on R&D at non-university research institutions (in billion euros) and as a percentage of GDP, 2023

relative absolute
Land in % in billion Euro
Baden-Württemberg 0.42 2.67
Bavaria 0.33 2.57
Berlin 1.09 2.17
Brandenburg 0.75 0.72
Bremen 1.29 0.52
Hamburg 0.40 0.61
Hesse 0.33 1.17
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 0.60 0.35
Lower Saxony 0.37 1.38
North Rhine-Westphalia 0.36 3.05
Rhineland-Palatinate 0.22 0.39
Saarland 0.52 0.22
Saxony 0.78 1.24
Saxony-Anhalt 0.50 0.39
Schleswig-Holstein 0.44 0.54
Thuringia 0.60 0.45

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Government expenditure on R&D represents the component of gross domestic expenditure on R&D incurred by units belonging to the government sector. The government sector includes all units of central, regional or local government (i.e. federal, state, local government), with the exception of those units that provide higher education services, as well as all non-market, non-profit institutions controlled by government units which are not part of the higher education sector.


R&D expenditure, business enterprise

Intramural business enterprise expenditure on R&D by state of residence of the research institution (in billion euros) and as a percentage of GDP, 2023

relative absolute
Land in % in billion Euro
Baden-Württemberg 4.78 30.21
Bavaria 2.61 20.23
Berlin 1.12 2.21
Brandenburg 0.31 0.30
Bremen 0.84 0.34
Hamburg 1.67 2.58
Hesse 2.21 7.85
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 0.19 0.11
Lower Saxony 1.87 6.89
North Rhine-Westphalia 1.33 11.36
Rhineland-Palatinate 2.90 5.23
Saarland 0.49 0.21
Saxony 0.65 1.03
Saxony-Anhalt 0.32 0.26
Schleswig-Holstein 0.62 0.76
Thuringia 1.12 0.86

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Business enterprise expenditure on R&D represents the component of gross domestic expenditure on R&D incurred by units belonging to the business enterprise sector. The business enterprise sector includes all resident corporations, legally unincorporated branches of non-resident enterprises, and all resident non-profit institutions that are market producers of goods or services or serve businesses. This sector comprises both private and public enterprises.


R&D personnel, total

R&D persons employed in full-time equivalents (FTE) and in FTE per thousand employed persons, 2023

relative absolute
Land in FTE per thousand employed persons in FTE
Baden-Württemberg 33.23 213,376
Bavaria 20.63 162,211
Berlin 20.72 45,388
Brandenburg 9.88 11,326
Bremen 17.38 7,720
Hamburg 17.73 23,938
Hesse 17.96 64,778
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 8.27 6,302
Lower Saxony 15.53 65,844
North Rhine-Westphalia 12.71 124,926
Rhineland-Palatinate 14.32 29,570
Saarland 10.44 5,497
Saxony 13.75 28,514
Saxony-Anhalt 8.29 8,240
Schleswig-Holstein 8.64 12,750
Thuringia 13.21 13,557

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The R&D personnel of a statistical unit includes all persons engaged directly in R&D. R&D personnel can be divided into three categories: researchers, technicians and other supporting staff. Full-time equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel is defined as the ratio of working hours actually spent on R&D during a specific reference period (usually a calendar year) divided by the total number of hours conventionally worked in the same period by an individual or by a group.


R&D personnel, higher education

R&D personnel in higher education in full-time equivalents (FTE), 2023

Land in FTE
Baden-Württemberg 23,868
Bavaria 26,668
Berlin 10,984
Brandenburg 3,200
Bremen 2,003
Hamburg 5,703
Hesse 10,043
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 2,589
Lower Saxony 12,543
North Rhine-Westphalia 32,307
Rhineland-Palatinate 6,196
Saarland 1,789
Saxony 9,793
Saxony-Anhalt 3,152
Schleswig-Holstein 3,206
Thuringia 3,769

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The R&D personnel of a statistical unit includes all persons engaged directly in R&D. The higher education sector includes all universities, universities of applied sciences and other institutions providing formal tertiary education programmes, whatever their source of finance or legal status, and all research institutes, research centres, experimental stations and clinics that have their R&D activities under the direct control of, or are administered by, tertiary education institutions.


R&D personnel, government

R&D personnel in non-university research institutions in full-time equivalents (FTE), 2023

Land in FTE
Baden-Württemberg 18,630
Bavaria 16,487
Berlin 13,982
Brandenburg 4,814
Bremen 3,059
Hamburg 4,360
Hesse 5,927
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 2,431
Lower Saxony 9,325
North Rhine-Westphalia 21,862
Rhineland-Palatinate 2,684
Saarland 1,642
Saxony 8,859
Saxony-Anhalt 2,819
Schleswig-Holstein 2,808
Thuringia 3,016

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The R&D personnel of a statistical unit includes all persons engaged directly in R&D. The government sector comprises all units of central, regional or local government (i.e. federal, state, local government), with the exception of those units that provide higher education services, as well as all non-market, non-profit institutions controlled by government units which are not part of the higher education sector.


R&D personnel, business enterprise

R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector in full-time equivalents (FTE), 2023

Land in FTE
Baden-Württemberg 170,877
Bavaria 119,056
Berlin 20,422
Brandenburg 3,312
Bremen 2,658
Hamburg 13,875
Hesse 48,808
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1,282
Lower Saxony 43,975
North Rhine-Westphalia 70,794
Rhineland-Palatinate 20,690
Saarland 2,066
Saxony 9,862
Saxony-Anhalt 2,269
Schleswig-Holstein 6,736
Thuringia 6,771

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The R&D personnel of a statistical unit includes all persons engaged directly in R&D. The business enterprise sector includes all resident corporations, legally unincorporated branches of non-resident enterprises, and all resident non-profit institutions that are market producers of goods or services or serve businesses. This sector comprises both private and public enterprises.


Patent density

Patent applications at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office by applicant’s state of residence (applications per 1 million inhabitants, patent density), 2024

Land per 1 million inhab.
Baden-Württemberg 1,370
Bavaria 850
Berlin 120
Brandenburg 80
Bremen 200
Hamburg 230
Hesse 160
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 40
Lower Saxony 380
North Rhine-Westphalia 290
Rhineland-Palatinate 160
Saarland 110
Saxony 130
Saxony-Anhalt 40
Schleswig-Holstein 140
Thuringia 250

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The indicator includes patent applications at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (national applications and DPMA-PCT national phase). Allocation according to Länder is made by the applicant’s registered office. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office publishes these figures annually.


Doctorates

Successful completion of degree by state and combined final examinations, 2023

Land Number
Baden-Württemberg 4,200
Bavaria 4,843
Berlin 1,685
Brandenburg 386
Bremen 254
Hamburg 965
Hesse 2,170
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 489
Lower Saxony 2,171
North Rhine-Westphalia 5,521
Rhineland-Palatinate 812
Saarland 71
Saxony 1,483
Saxony-Anhalt 462
Schleswig-Holstein 435
Thuringia 623

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The indicator Doctorates covers all completed doctoral proceedings at German universities in one year. The German Federal Statistical Office publishes these figures annually.


Start-up rate, R&D intensive industries

Number of start-up businesses as a percentage of the total number of companies, 2021-2023

Land in %
Baden-Württemberg 2.05
Bavaria 2.59
Berlin 3.71
Brandenburg 2.79
Bremen 1.86
Hamburg 3.09
Hesse 2.36
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 2.53
Lower Saxony 2.57
North Rhine-Westphalia 2.37
Rhineland-Palatinate 2.24
Saarland 2.08
Saxony 2.41
Saxony-Anhalt 1.99
Schleswig-Holstein 2.52
Thuringia 1.37

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Start-up rate is the number of start-up businesses in one year as a percentage of the average number of companies in the same year. R&D intensive industry comprises of high-value technologies and cutting-edge technologies.


Start-up rate, knowledge-intensive services

Number of start-up businesses as a percentage of the total number of companies, 2021-2023

Land in %
Baden-Württemberg 4.75
Bavaria 5.39
Berlin 7.06
Brandenburg 4.90
Bremen 5.28
Hamburg 5.12
Hesse 4.67
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 4.68
Lower Saxony 4.83
North Rhine-Westphalia 5.00
Rhineland-Palatinate 4.68
Saarland 5.18
Saxony 4.32
Saxony-Anhalt 3.75
Schleswig-Holstein 5.21
Thuringia 3.32

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Start-up rate is the number of start-up businesses in one year as a percentage of the average number of companies in the same year. Knowledge-intensive services typically includes sectors such as IT/telecommunication, technical/R&D-services and management consultancy/marketing.


Population

Annual average population (in million inhabitants), 2024

Land in million inhab.
Baden-Württemberg 11.35
Bavaria 13.46
Berlin 3.79
Brandenburg 2.58
Bremen 0.69
Hamburg 1.92
Hesse 6.43
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1.63
Lower Saxony 8.16
North Rhine-Westphalia 18.20
Rhineland-Palatinate 4.18
Saarland 0.99
Saxony 4.08
Saxony-Anhalt 2.17
Schleswig-Holstein 2.97
Thuringia 2.12

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Total number of inhabitants of a given area.


Gross Domestic Product

GDP of the Länder (in billion euros and in euros per inhabitant), 2024

relative absolute
Land in Euro per inhab. in billion Euro
Baden-Württemberg 57,294 650.2
Bavaria 58,817 791.6
Berlin 54,607 207.1
Brandenburg 37,774 97.5
Bremen 59,785 41.4
Hamburg 84,486 161.9
Hesse 57,288 368.3
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 37,656 61.2
Lower Saxony 46,706 381.3
North Rhine-Westphalia 47,916 871.9
Rhineland-Palatinate 44,046 184.0
Saarland 42,877 42.6
Saxony 39,667 161.9
Saxony-Anhalt 36,517 79.4
Schleswig-Holstein 42,705 126.8
Thuringia 36,942 78.2

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The gross domestic product is the value of the domestic output of an economy in a given period.


Gross Domestic Product, growth rate of GDP

Growth rate of GDP (percentage year-on-year), 2024

Land in %
Baden-Württemberg 3.0
Bavaria 2.3
Berlin 4.6
Brandenburg 1.1
Bremen 2.5
Hamburg 5.3
Hesse 3.9
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 3.5
Lower Saxony 3.3
North Rhine-Westphalia 2.4
Rhineland-Palatinate 1.9
Saarland 1.2
Saxony 2.5
Saxony-Anhalt 1.1
Schleswig-Holstein 3.8
Thuringia 1.8

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

The gross domestic product is the value of the domestic output of an economy in a given period.


Employment in technology and knowledge-intensive sectors, total

Employment in technology and knowledge-intensive sectors (persons and percentage of total employment), 2024

relative absolute
Land in % Number
Baden-Württemberg 7.1 425,800
Bavaria 6.6 467,300
Berlin 9.7 181,100
Brandenburg 4.3 53,700
Bremen 5.4 18,200
Hamburg 7.1 69,700
Hesse 6.1 193,300
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 2.5 18,600
Lower Saxony 4.1 168,000
North Rhine-Westphalia 5 449,000
Rhineland-Palatinate 5.3 112,800
Saarland 4.9 23,600
Saxony 5.9 113,800
Saxony-Anhalt 3.3 32,900
Schleswig-Holstein 3.7 54,300
Thuringia 4.9 49,400

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Data Version

Last updated in August 2025
Next update scheduled for May 2026


About the indicator

Cutting-edge technologies comprise of high-technology manufacturing industry and high-technology knowledge-intensive services.