Portugal is making progress in innovation, with more money being spent on research and development, better business activity, and more people getting higher education. The 2024 National Innovation Report shows that R&D spending reached over €4.5 billion, which is 1.7% of the country's total economic output. The main areas driving this growth are Security and Defense, where investments have climbed to nearly €500 million, an increase of 29% since 2020.
The report also points to major improvements in digital and scientific systems.
The NAU online platform has grown by 25%, the RCTS100 network now connects 90% of higher education institutions, and the POLEN data hub has gone past 10 petabytes. About 45% of companies took part in innovation activities between 2020 and 2022, and this number rose to 79% for larger companies.
However, Portugal is still considered a “moderate innovator” in Europe.
There are still important challenges to address, such as keeping skilled workers, improving protection for intellectual property, and investing more in emerging areas like artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and space-related applications.
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