Cyprus allocated approximately €112 million to research and development (R&D) in 2025, almost doubling government funding over the past decade despite a decline from the previous year, according to figures published by Eurostat on Friday.

Specifically, the European statistical office reported that government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) in Cyprus stood at €111.99m in 2025, down from €150.61m in 2024.

Despite the year-on-year decline of 25.64 per cent, Cyprus’ R&D funding remained 87.74 per cent higher than in 2015, when government allocations amounted to €59.66m.

The long-term increase reflects Cyprus’ stronger economic performance in recent years, allowing greater investment in research and innovation compared with the more restrained public finances that characterised the years immediately following the financial crisis.

The figures also show that R&D funding has broadly followed an upward trend over the past decade, rising from €59.79m in 2016 and €62.47m in 2017 to €67.08m in 2018, before reaching €80.44m in 2019.

Although allocations increased further to €117.21m in 2020, funding eased slightly to €110.57m in 2021 before climbing again to €115.23m in 2022 and €138.29m in 2023.

The 2024 allocation of €150.61m marked the highest level recorded during the period covered by Eurostat before falling back in 2025.

Across the European Union, governments allocated an estimated €130.2 billion to research and development in 2025.

This represented 0.69 per cent of EU gross domestic product, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared with 2024, when R&D allocations totalled €127.14bn.

Compared with 2015, when governments allocated €81.14bn, total EU R&D funding increased by 60.5 per cent.

Eurostat also reported that government spending on R&D averaged €288.90 per inhabitant across the European Union in 2025.

This represented an increase of 57.7 per cent compared with €183.20 per inhabitant recorded in 2015.

Luxembourg recorded the highest R&D budget allocation per resident at €917.20 per inhabitant, followed by Denmark with €627.10 and Germany with €553.50.

At the opposite end of the ranking, Romania recorded the lowest allocation at €18.80 per inhabitant, followed by Hungary with €57.40 and Malta with €73.70.

Romania was also the only EU member state to record a decline in government R&D allocations per inhabitant over the decade.

Its spending fell 9.6 per cent, from €20.80 per inhabitant in 2015 to €18.80 in 2025.

All other member states recorded increases over the same period.

The smallest increase was registered in Sweden, where allocations per inhabitant rose 14.7 per cent, from €363.40 to €416.70.

Bulgaria recorded the largest increase, with funding per inhabitant surging 495.5 per cent, from €15.50 in 2015 to €92.30 in 2025.

Eurostat also analysed how governments distributed their research budgets across different policy objectives.

The largest share, 37.3 per cent, was allocated to the general advancement of knowledge through public general university funds, which support the activities of public higher education institutions.

A further 18.4 per cent was directed towards the general advancement of knowledge from sources other than university block grants.

Meanwhile, 9.5 per cent of funding was allocated to industrial production and technology, 6.7 per cent to health, and 5.8 per cent to defence.