Facts and figures

Germany’s research and innovation ecosystem is the largest in Europe, and the country regularly ranks as one of the leaders in innovation globally.¹ Germany’s network of 408 universities, research institutions and research infrastructures supports research and teaching across all major scientific disciplines² and maintains strong international collaborative networks.

There were more than 1.65 million students enrolled at universities in Germany in the 2024-2025 academic year.³ Gross domestic expenditure on research and development rose by 18% in the five years to 2023 reaching almost 130 billion euros, although as a percentage of national Gross Domestic Product remained steady at 3.11% – well above the European Union average of 2.13%.⁴ The private sector was the main funder of R&D (62.8% in 2021) followed by the public sector with 30%.⁴

Germany hosts EMBO and EMBC, and other intergovernmental research organizations including the European XFEL, EMBL, the European Southern Observatory, EUMETSAT and major centres of the European Space Agency.