China surpassed the EU in private sector R&D investment in 2021

China surpassed the EU in its share of global R&D investment in 2021, according to the 2022 EU industrial R&D investment scoreboard. 

In 2021, EU companies recovered after the 2020 COVID crisis, with an increase of 8.9%, compared to the -2.2 % pandemic-related dip in 2020. Total investment was €192.8 billion in R&D, however, their slice of the global cake decreased to 17.6%.

This was due to growth in investment in China. Amid an intensified technology race, in 2021 Chinese companies increased investment in R&D sharply, to €195.9 billion, or 17.9% of total global spending on R&D. 

The scoreboard shows European companies invested in a balanced mix of sectors, but with the automotive industry accounting for one third of private investment in R&D in 2021. 

In China, information and communication technology (ICT) companies were in the lead, accounting for 44.4% of R&D spending.

The US remains the leading country by some distance, at €439.7 billion, or 40% of global private sector R&D. In the US, companies investing the most in R&D were the ICT and the health sectors.