The expenses incurred in 2023 for the research and development activity amounted to 8.288 billion RON, representing 0.51% of the Gross Domestic Product, of which 0.19% for the public sector and 0.32% for the private sector, according to the centralized data of National Institute of Statistics (INS).At the end of 2023, 48,103 employees were working in research and development, down 1.9% compared to 2022.According to the cited source, in 2023 8.288 billion RON were spent on the four performance sectors of the research and development activity, of which 7.355 billion RON were current expenses (88.7%) and 933.2 million RON were capital expenses , respectively 11.3%.According to the funding sources of the total research and development expenses, in 2023, the sources provided by enterprises had the highest weight, respectively 54.2%, followed by public funds (including general public university funds), respectively 28.4% .In terms of funding sources, the largest amounts from public funds were received by units from the government sector, with a weight of 80%, followed by units from the higher education sector, with a weight of 43.7%.The sources of funding for the research-development activity from abroad were mostly directed towards the units of the business environment sector (47.9%), the higher education sector (33.9%) and the government sector (15.2%).On December 31, 2023, 48,103 employees worked in research and development, of which 22,182 were women, respectively 46.1%.At the end of 2023, according to the level of professional training of employees who worked in research and development, 40,873 employees had higher education.From the total number of employees involved in the research and development activity, 40.5% had doctoral studies and postdoctoral programs as their training level, 44.5% had higher bachelor's, master's and/or courses and postgraduate studies and 15% other training level (exclusively higher). Among employees with doctoral studies and postdoctoral programs, 50.2% were women.Depending on the hours actually worked, 73.3% of the employees who carried out research-development activity in 2023, worked full-time.By occupation category, in 2023 the largest share of employees from the research and development activity was represented by researchers, 64.8% of the total, respectively 31,182 employees, an increase of 1,345 employees, compared to 2022.
Participation in cultural education activities continues to be limited, with the main barriers being difficult access, insufficient knowledge, and cost, the recently released Cultural Consumption Barometer 2024 shows. The report showed that many Romanians still associate culture with entertainment rather than with personal development or furthering their knowledge. The need for relaxation dominates in cultural […]
Roughly 84% of Romanians say that the pace of the state’s digitalization is slow or very slow, according to an Edge Institute & AtlasIntel study presented at the Digital Governance Summit 2025, which took place on Tuesday, November 25, at the presidential palace in Bucharest. The survey aims to capture the way citizens relate to […]
Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on the new bill regarding magistrates’ pensions. The move is only the latest development concerning a heated issue that led to tensions between the executive and the judiciary branch. CSM’s opinion is consultative, and the government led by Ilie Bolojan can still take responsibility for […]
Romania took the presidency of the Central European Initiative (or CEI) on Wednesday, November 26, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The organization is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe […]
Trade between Romania and Poland continues to grow, with annual bilateral exchanges in goods now valued at more than EUR 12 billion, according to figures presented by the Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC). The data was released during a reception in Bucharest marking Poland’s Independence Day and Romania’s National Day. Polish investments […]
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
