Poland on the way to SDGs. Report 2025

Innovation and research and development activity play an important role in the development of any country. Launching new products, services and technologies increases productivity, improves the competitiveness of companies and strengthens a country's position on the international stage. In Poland, expenditure on research and development was steadily growing. In 2023, PLN 53.1 billion was allocated to this area, i.e. almost three times more than in 2015 (when it was PLN 18.1 billion). In 2024, R&D outlays fell by a few percent year on year for the first time in years, and totalled PLN 51.5 billion. Current expenditure is the largest part of R&D outlays, accounting for 91% of them, compared to 74% in 2015. Until 2023, R&D expenditure was growing also in relation to gross domestic product. The intensity of R&D activity in Poland increased from 1.0% to 1.6% of GDP in this period, but fell to 1.4% of GDP in 2024. These results are below the EU average (2.1-2.3% of GDP). In terms of R&D intensity, Poland has caught up with Southern European countries such as Spain (1.5%), Greece (1.5%), Croatia (1.4%) and Italy (1.3%), where R&D expenditure grew more slowly during this period. The indicator in Poland is also higher than in some Western European countries (such as Luxembourg with 1.01%), but still significantly lower than in countries considered to be European leaders in innovation (Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Germany and Finland), where R&D intensity is more than twice as high as in Poland.

For years, research and development activity has been financed in Poland mainly by businesses and the government sector. Currently it is enterprises that allocate the most funds to this purpose, accounting for over half (58%) of the country’s R&D expenditure. 35% of funding comes from the government sector. In 2015, these proportions were reversed – the government earmarked 42% of funds for R&D, while 39% came from business.

Companies also carry out research and development activity on a larger scale than a few years ago. Nowadays in Poland, as in the whole EU, the business sector accounts for 63% of spending in this area (compared to 47% in 2015). This money comes from businesses’ own funds as well as from the government sector and from abroad. Higher education institutions have increased their research and development activity, too. Now they are responsible for 34% of R&D total expenditure, compared to 29% in 2015. In contrast, the financial involvement of the government sector has fallen significantly, from 24% in 2015 to just 2%.

As funds for R&D increase, so does the number of patent applications submitted to the European Patent Office (EPO). In 2024, 692 patents were granted (compared to 566 in 2015) to legally protect the effects of the activity of Polish researchers in the whole EU. The number of patents increased from 15 to 19 per 1 million inhabitants of Poland. Nevertheless, the patent activity of Polish residents remains much lower than in most countries of the region. Across the EU as a whole, the number of applications to the EPO increased from 140 to 152 patents per 1 million inhabitants.

The increase in the intensity of research and development work in Poland translates into an increase in the number of R&D personnel expressed in full-time equivalents¹. Currently it is almost twice as large as in 2015 (200,000 people compared to 109,000). In Poland, as in other EU countries, researchers constitute the largest part of the whole personnel involved in R&D activities (apart from them, R&D personnel is comprised of technicians, equivalent staff and other supporting staff). Although the proportion of researchers to the total number of R&D personnel in Poland is lower than in 2015 (73% compared to 75%), it still remains above the EU average (around 65%).

Currently, the R&D personnel in Poland account for 1.2% of the economically active population, which is nearly twice as much as in 2015 (0.7%). Although this is still less than the EU average (1.6%), the trend is clearly upward. The number of R&D personnel employed in the enterprise sector has increased the most, now accounting for 0.7% of the economically active population (compared to 0.2% in 2015). More and more people in the higher education sector have also been involved in R&D (they account for 0.4% of the economically active population, compared to 0.3% in 2015). R&D personnel in the government sector remain the least numerous, accounting for approximately 0.03% of the total economically active population.

¹ A conversion unit used to determine the number of persons actually involved in R&D activities. One full-time equivalent (FTE) represents one person-year devoted exclusively to R&D activities.