| Finland's knowledge-based growth strategy provides strong support for research and development, with investments in R&D having risen steadily since the early 1980s. In this respect, the most important recent event was the decision taken by the Government in 1996 to allocate funds from the privatisation of state-owned companies to fund science and technology. The goal was to increase the national R&D input to 2.9 per cent of GDP by 1999. Owing to rapidly increasing investment by the private sector, this level was achieved a year ahead of schedule. Today the figure, which is made up of public funding and the input from industry, has risen to 3.6 per cent. This puts Finland second in the world for R&D spending per capita. Of the total R&D investment, 29 per cent is funded by Government and 71 per cent by the private sector. |
