Türkiye's research and development spending climbs to 1.55% of GDP in 2025
- Corporate sector accounts for 65% of total spending, while female personnel makes up 34.1% of workforce

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- Corporate sector accounts for 65% of total spending, while female personnel makes up 34.1% of workforce

By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) rose to 980.4 billion Turkish liras ($24.8 billion) in 2025, reaching 1.55% of gross domestic product, official data showed on Friday.
R&D spending increased by 328.61 billion liras ($8.3 billion) compared to 2024, when the ratio of R&D expenditure to gross domestic product stood at 1.46%, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Financial and non-financial corporations accounted for the largest share of spending at 65%, followed by higher education at 30.3% and the general government sector, including private non-profit institutions, at 4.7%.
Personnel costs constituted the largest expenditure category, representing 58.8% of total R&D spending.
Corporations also led in financing research activities, providing 52.5% of total funding, followed by the general government at 31.1%, higher education at 14.1% and foreign sources at 2.3%.
The total number of full-time equivalent R&D personnel rose to 317,982 in 2025.
The corporate sector employed 67.9% of full-time equivalent personnel, higher education accounted for 29% and the government sector employed 3%.
Female personnel accounted for 34.1% of full-time equivalent R&D staff, totaling 108,453 individuals.
The share of female staff reached 48.1% in higher education, 32.2% in government institutions and 28.2% in corporations.
The USD/TRY exchange rate was at 39.55 on average last year.
Gökhan Ergöçün