Facts and figures

Italy has more than 1.7 million students¹ enrolled across 97 universities, of which 67 are under public law². Nearly 20% of Italy’s population aged 15-64 has completed tertiary education, and 35% of employed people have tertiary education and/or work in science and technology³.

The country’s R&D expenditure was 1.47% of GDP in 2019⁴. Business companies invested 16.6 billion euros, about 63% of total expenditure, while universities and non-profit organizations contributed about 24% of total expenditure. The share of the Italian government was 12.5%⁴.

Italy ranks among the top 30 most innovative economies, with Milan representing a top Science & Technology cluster worldwide⁵. In 2020, the European Patent Office granted 3,813 patents to first patentees residing in Italy⁶. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Italy is a frontrunner in work-life balance, civic engagement, social connections and health⁷.

Researchers in Italy have been successful in securing international funding, for example through EU’s Horizon 2020 scheme, European Research Council grants, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programs⁸ and EMBO fellowships⁹.

The Ministry of University and Research (MUR) oversees higher education and research institutions in Italy, and is one of the main national funding agencies¹⁰. MUR’s National Research Program 2021-2027 is a multiannual framework program aimed at achieving important goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Next Generation EU initiative¹¹.

In line with EU’s new funding program Horizon Europe, MUR’s National Research Program 2021-2027 uses a cross-sectoral clusters approach to boost key technologies, promote international research and strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations¹².