Inadequate human resources and weak investment in research and development continue to hold back innovation in Bulgaria, according to the annual Innovation.bg report released Tuesday.
The study, published by the Applied Research and Communications Fund, found that only 25,400 people are currently engaged in R&D in the country. Investment amounts to just 0.8 percent of GDP, well below national and EU targets.
“Today, supply chains are shortening, investments are seeking secure jurisdictions, and critical technologies are being developed within a circle of trusted partners,” ARC Fund Chairman Ognian Shentov said at the report’s presentation. “In this new reality, the ability to innovate is not only an engine for growth, but also a condition for national survival and sovereignty.”
The report noted that Bulgaria’s R&D spending has risen sharply over the past two decades, from 88.8 million euros ($103 million) in 2003 to 750.3 million euros ($872 million) in 2023. But despite the growth, the level of investment remains too low to drive a qualitative leap in innovation or achieve the critical concentration of resources needed for sustainable capacity.
On a per capita basis, Bulgaria invested 116.4 euros per person in 2023, the second lowest in the European Union. Denmark, Sweden and Austria each invested between 14 and 17 times more per inhabitant, the report said.