Research and development business enterprise expenditure: 2023

The most recent data in this report is for 2023.

• In 2023, business expenditure on Research and Development (BERD) for Wales was £835 million, down 5.5% on the figure for 2022.  
• This represented 1.7% of the UK total.
• For the UK, business expenditure on R&D increased by 2.9%.

The level of BERD in Wales can be influenced greatly by a small number of individual projects commencing or ending in a period.

The main source of data used to compile estimates for this publication is the annual BERD survey. This collects annual data on UK businesses that perform research and development (R&D). In previously published BERD statistics, up to the 2020 reference period, it has been established that there was undercoverage, particularly of small businesses.

For 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) introduced a new sample, that increased the volume of data received and ensured that the BERD statistics now better reflect the level of R&D performed across the UK economy. This means that the estimates in this bulletin supersede those from the interim uplift approach taken in 2021 and are considered the most accurate estimates of business R&D in the UK. Therefore, estimates from 2022 and 2023 are not directly comparable with previous years except at the UK level.

ONS are working with the Office for Statistics Regulation as they carry out a quality assessment of BERD statistics. This review focuses on the new methods and how these meet user needs with the aim of regaining Accredited Official Statistics status for these statistics.

Further information is available in the ONS release.

The detailed dataset on StatsWales will be updated to include these new data as soon as possible.

Statistician: Emma Horncastle
Email: economic.stats@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099