Business enterprise research and development

Data on business expenditure and employment in R&D across England regions

Business sectors
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Business expenditure on research and development by region

Business expenditure on research and development is lower than you would expect in the North East given the number of businesses in the region and the region’s share of England’s population. 

In 2022 businesses in the North East spent £732 million on research and development, equivalent to £10,100 per working age adult. The England total was £18,800. 

From another perspective the North East’s expenditure was equivalent to 1.6% of the England total, while the region has 3.0% of English businesses and 4.6% of the working age population. 

This is also reflected in the data on business employment in research and development. The region’s businesses employ 12,000 people in research and development related roles. This was 2.1% of the total employment in research and development roles in England.