Archive:Researchers in the European countries

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Data from 2007, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Figure 1: Shares of researchers by sector in EU-27, 2000 to 2007

A portrait of government and higher education researchers in European countries

Research in the government and higher education sectors (GOV and HES), are mainly financed by public funds, and therefore less oriented towards profit. It can thus be assumed that these sectors attract researchers with slightly different career objectives than researchers employed in the business enterprise sector. Of the four R&D performing sectors, the higher education sector still employs most researchers at EU level, although the business enterprise sector has gradually been catching up. As a share of total employment, the highest levels of researchers working in the government and higher education sectors in the EU were recorded in Finland. In Luxembourg, the proportion of young researchers in these two sectors is very high, whereas in other countries, such as Latvia, the researcher community working in the government and higher education sectors is relatively old. In most countries for which data are available, the vast majority of researchers are citizens of the country of employment. However, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cyprus and Denmark counted more than 10 % of foreign researchers in the higher education sector. In most countries for which data are available, the vast majority of researchers are citizens of the country of employment. However, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cyprus and Denmark counted more than 10 % of foreign researchers in the higher education sector.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Researchers in the government and higher education sectors, 2006

Figure 2: Researchers in the government and higher education sectors by age group, available countries, 2006

Table 2: Researchers in the government and higher education sectors by citizenship , available countries, 2006

Researchers are employed in all sectors of the economy, but at EU level the highest shares -measured in headcount (HC) - can be found in the higher education and business enterprise sectors, followed by the government sector (see figure 1). While the share of researchers in the business enterprise sector increased steadily during the period under review, growth rates were lower in the higher education sector and virtually stagnant in the government sector.

Marked gender imbalance in the higher education and government sectors

The following focuses on researchers in the government and higher education sectors broken down by sex, age group and citizenship. As mentioned above, researchers tend to be far more numerous in the higher education sector than in the government sector. However, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Russia were exceptions to this rule (see table 1). In Bulgaria and Russia the comparatively high number of researchers in the government sector may be a legacy of the past economic system. In Luxembourg the limited number of researchers in higher education is linked to the fact that no university existed in this country until recently. Most of the countries for which data are available did not achieve a gender balance in the government and higher education sectors. However, in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Portugal, female researchers in the government sector outnumbered their male counterparts. Latvia and Lithuania were the only countries where women accounted for more than 50 % of researchers in the higher education sector. The widest gender gap in the EU was reported in the Netherlands, where women comprised less than 30 % of researchers in both sectors under review. In Japan, the only non-European country shown in table 1, women in research were vastly underrepresented, accounting for only 13.2 % of researchers in the government sector and 22.1 % in the higher education sector. In the EU as a whole, female participation in research may well rise in the future, as the share of female higher education graduates continues to increase and the proportion of women among the 25-34 and 35-44 old graduates is already higher than that of men (see Eurostat news release 58/2009 – 28 April 2009). Readers with a particular interest in the gender gap in research should also take a closer look at the forthcoming edition of She Figures ^[1], which will be published by the European Commission in autumn 2009.

Finland records the highest shares of researchers in the higher education and government sectors in the EU

Table 1 also indicates that researchers comprise a very small share of total employment in the EU, at just 0.10 % in the government sector and 0.44 % in the higher education sector. However, the average figure masks wide national differences. For the government sector, the share of researchers in total national employment ranges from 0.03 % in Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom to 0.23 % in Finland. In parallel, in the higher education sector this share ranges from 0.11 % in Luxem¬bourg to 0.83 % in Finland. The high figures for Finland are not surprising as it ranks among the most research-intensive countries in the world ^[2] . Iceland, which aims to join the EU in 2012, also recorded comparably high levels of researchers in the higher education sector and particularly in the government sector.

Researchers: young in Luxembourg — older in Latvia

Statistical data on researchers in the government and higher education sectors by age group are only available for 14 EU Member States, plus Croatia and Norway. This limited number can nonetheless provide an interesting insight into the age structure of researchers at national level. At first glance, the age pyramids (shown in figure 2) of researchers in higher education sector and in government sector are fairly similar, but a closer look reveals some differences between the two sectors. The most striking result was found in Luxembourg, where two thirds of researchers in the government sector are younger than 35. This may be explained by the significant recent expansion ^[3] of public laboratories employing many young researchers. As in the government sector, researchers in higher education in Luxembourg are also very young, with 42 % of them under 35 years of age. This can partly be explained by the government’s strategy of developing the University of Luxembourg, with a strong focus on research and innovation. However, researchers in the government sector were comparatively younger than in the higher education sector, as the university pursued a more balanced recruitment of senior scientists. Owing to its lack of international renown, it is difficult for a young university to attract experienced researchers. Thus, the current number of researchers is still very low compared to other small countries such as Malta (see table 1), where a university was founded several centuries ago.

In contrast, the opposite was observed in Latvia, where the increasing age of researchers is especially visible in the government sector. More than half of Latvian researchers in the government sector are over 55 years old. This is because comparatively low salaries and unattractive working conditions tend to drive young Latvian researchers abroad ^[4]. However, R&D expenditure measured in constant prices has more than doubled in the Latvian government sector between 2003 and 2007. If this trend continues, it will probably encourage young Latvian researchers to start and continue their career in this sector. Current imbalances in the age structure are therefore expected to even out or at least show an improvement. Other countries also employed large numbers of young researchers in the higher education sector: in Austria, Cyprus and Finland, more than 40 % of researchers in the higher education sector were less than 35 years of age. Research policies are comparable in Austria and Finland, where research is supported by a higher education system that promotes transition from graduation directly into research careers. However, this was not the case in Cyprus, as most Cypriot students have to study abroad because the existing educational structures are too small to cater for all students who wish to enrol in tertiary education. In 2006, nearly 80 % of Cypriot students in tertiary education were enrolled in another European country (EU-27, EFTA and candidate countries — see also on this issue: Eurostat news release 58/2009 – 28 April 2009). As for the government sector, Latvia also accounted for the highest share of older researchers in the higher education sector, with 38 % of researchers aged over 55 years. It should be noted that Italy also counted 36 % of researchers in the higher education sector over 55 years old ^[5]. The relatively high share of researchers in the highest age bracket in some countries may be surprising, especially in light of the official retirement age which in most of the countries shown is 65 or below. This could be due to a keen interest in the research area and reluctance to waste important human resources, but could also in some cases be an effect of low pension levels. Data on the age structure of researchers in the business enterprise sector are not available, but it can be assumed that younger researchers tend to be more attracted by this sector, as salaries there are normally higher.

Most researchers in Luxembourg come from abroad

The European Union needs more researchers and is endeavouring to reach the 3 % target set by the Barcelona European Council in March 2002. To this end, better working conditions can encourage European researchers to remain in Europe or possibly to return from abroad. The aim is to convert the current perceived ‘brain drain’ in research into a ‘brain gain’. Another priority on the European policy agenda for reversing this trend is to facilitate the integration of researchers from outside the EU. The R&D data collection does not systematically collect any precise data on EU researchers working outside the borders of the union. However, currently, 17 EU and EFTA Member States provide data on the citizenship of researchers working in the government and higher education sectors within their national borders. In most of these countries less than 5 % of the researchers in the two sectors are not citizens of the country in which they are working (see table 2). In this respect Luxembourg is an exception, as more than three quarters of researchers in the government sector and around two thirds in the higher education sector are of foreign citizenship. It should be noted that foreign citizens who are residents in Luxembourg or who commute from neighbouring countries account for more than 65 % of total domestic employment in the country . In Cyprus, 20 % of researchers in the higher educa¬tion sector come from another EU Member State. As mentioned above, a majority of tertiary students in Cyprus go abroad to complete their studies. The first university in Cyprus was founded in the mid-1990s and the Cyprus University of Technology was inaugurated in 2007/2008 . This may explain why a significant share of researchers in Cyprus is recruited from other EU Member States.

Denmark and Norway also recorded high shares of foreign researchers working in the government sector and, particularly, in the higher education sector. In the case of Denmark, no further breakdown of foreign citizenships is provided, but it can be assumed that in both countries a considerable fraction of foreign researchers come from other Scandinavian countries. This assumption can be made because of the common Nordic labour market, established in 1954, and also because of the close relationship between the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian languages which facilitates integration. A number of programmes have been set up to make it easier for highly qualified foreign nationals to work in Denmark. The welfare system in Denmark and the population’s language abilities — nearly all Danes speak English and many of them also speak another European language — are two essential assets in attracting foreign researchers^[6] . In Portugal, foreign citizens accounted for more than 5 % of all researchers in the government sector and in the higher education sector. In both sectors, the majority of foreign researchers are from outside the EU. In Switzerland, 44 % of researchers in the higher education sector were foreign nationals, compared with 9 % in the government sector. The country’s multilingual background and geopolitical situation are certainly attractive for researchers from abroad. According to the ERAWATCH country report on Switzerland, ‘well-paid researcher positions and a good scientific infrastructure in both the private and the public domain attract highly qualified researchers from other countries that are needed in order to cover the demand for researchers which could not be covered by domestic scientists’^[7] .

Data sources and availability

Basic compilations of national R&D statistics are provided to Eurostat by EU Member States, Candidate Countries, EFTA and other European Countries. National Statistical Offices, Research Councils, and Ministries are often responsible R&D data compilations at national level. For China, Japan, the United States and Korea the data source is the OECD's Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI).

The national compilations are provided in different breakdowns and in the basic units national currencies (NAC), for R&D expenditure, and number of full-time equivalents (FTE) and head count (HC), for R&D personnel.

Derived indicators and aggregates are calculated by Eurostat on the base of the data collected, sometimes together with Eurostat estimations and internal Eurostat data sources.

The data are normally collected by the national statistical institutes through sample or census surveys, from administrative registers or through a combination of sources.

Context

Mobility of researchers

The globalisation of the economy calls for greater mobility of researchers, something which was recognised by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Community when it opened up its programmes further to researchers from outside the European Union. The number of researchers which the Community will need by 2010 to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council in March 2002 of 3 % of GDP invested in research is estimated at 700 000. This target is to be met through a series of interlocking measures, such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, promoting women’s involvement in scientific research, extending the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving career prospects for researchers in the Community and opening up the Community to third-country nationals who might be admitted for the purposes of research.

Source: Council Directive 2005/71/EC of 12 October 2005.

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