Facts and figures

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has thirteen universities with Leiden University being the oldest, founded in 1575 by William of Orange in recognition of the city’s resistance to Spanish invaders¹. Over 36% of adults in the Netherlands have attended higher vocational education or universities in 2023 , and more than 260,000 people were employed in R&D work².

Gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) increased by 0.1% between 2019 and 2023 to reach 23,780 million euros, representing 2.23% of gross domestic product. The main sectors financing GERD in 2022 were businesses providing 58%³.  

The European Patent Office granted 2,881 patents to residents of the Netherlands in 2024⁴. 

Life scientists in the Netherlands have access to several sources of research funding. The main governmental funder is the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. A separate branch of the NWO is the Department of Healthcare and Medical Sciences which receives funding mainly from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports⁵. Researchers may, e.g., also apply for grants through Horizon Europeprojects, European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions as well as EMBO.