Nanoforum - Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive

7. Hungary
7.1. General information
Hungary is a central European country, with about 10 million inhabitants. Due to
political changes in Hungary, funding has undergone important changes and
developments during the past 10 years. Government expenditure for R&D as a
percentage of GDP is still fairly low compared to most OECD countries. As a result of
the substantial economic and financial challenges that accompanied the country's
transition to a market economy, GERD dropped significantly during the 1990s.
Figure 13: Map of Hungary
(Source: http://forum.europa.eu.int/irc/dsis/candidate/info/data/candidatecountries/)
In 2001, Gross expenditure on R&D was 0.94% of GDP. In absolute figures, the total
R&D expenditure surpassed 140 billion HUF (approx. 600 M EURO) Since then
Industrial R&D expenditures have grown by 23%, while government investments have
shown a 45% increase. From 2003 on, expanding R&D tax and other incentives for
innovation promise further increases in business research and development spending.
R&D funds for the higher education sector have also grown significantly (by 43%),
whereas the funds for government institutions have also experienced a larger increase
(32%), and are well over the rate of inflation. The Government's main goal is to reach
the EU average by 2006.
In 2000, the government approved the launch of the National Research and
Development Programs. They followed the advice of the Science Advisory Board of the
Science and Technology Policy Council established in 1999. This advice included
recommendations to strengthen human resources, the institutional structure, financing,
infrastructure and international co-operation. There are five national research and
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