The Northern Ireland Research & Development (R&D) Survey provides information on the level of R&D activity in Northern Ireland (NI). The methodology employed to produce Business R&D spend estimates has been improved to better represent R&D performance across the Northern Ireland economy. This improvement has produced figures which provide the best current estimate of Business level R&D spend at the Northern Ireland level and has been validated against other available data.
Key points from 2024 statistics – published 28th November 2025
Total R&D Spend
The 2024 R&D survey results indicate that £1,000.7 million (m) was spent on R&D in NI in 2024 (0.5% more than in 2023).
Of the £1,000.7m, £713.8m (71.3%) was spent by Businesses, £261.5m (26.1%) by Higher Education Establishments and £25.4m (2.5%) by Government Departments.
Total expenditure on R&D in Northern Ireland decreased by 3.1% in constant prices (adjusted for the effects of inflation) between 2023 and 2024.
Business R&D (BERD) Spend
Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs, 0-249 employees) accounted for 48.2% of BERD in 2024. Large firms (250+ employees) accounted for 51.8% of BERD.
Non-capital spend accounted for the vast majority of BERD spend in 2024 (£660.5m, 92.5%).
There were 9,730 FTEs working in an R&D role in 2024 (up 9.2% since 2023).
In 2024, around half of all BERD can be attributed to the Services sector (£368.3m; 51.6%).
Two-fifths (40.9%, £292.3m) of total BERD was attributed to companies in the Belfast Local Government District (LGD) in 2024.
The majority of funding for BERD in 2024 was self-funded by the companies carrying out the R&D work (£437.1m, 61.2%).
These statistics were accredited as ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ in November 2025 following a full assessment of the Northern Ireland Research and Development Statistics against the Code of Practice for Statistics. This means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.
Since the assessment by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics and seek to continue with the development and improvement of the Northern Ireland Research and Development series.
Users should refer to the Northern Ireland Research and Development Statistics Development Plan for further information on recent developments.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
In September 2024, a R&D user group meeting was held which sought to gather feedback from users on R&D statistics and users' views on the recent methodological changes made to the survey. A follow up consultation survey was sent to users. A results paper has been published which provides a summary of the feedback gathered from this consultation, and can be accessed here:
Northern Ireland Research and Development User Consultation: Results
As part of the R&D user consultation, feedback on how users think the NI R&D statistics could be improved was gathered. Here, users indicated that they would be interested in seeing a revised back series prior to 2018. NISRA has now published a revised 2011-2024 back series which is available below in the Data Back Series, Quality Report and Archive Publications section.
In light of the recent methodological changes to the survey we have created a development plan which sets out the progress made by the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency (NISRA) in developing Northern Ireland Research and Development statistics over the last several years. The full development plan can be accessed here:
Northern Ireland Research and Development Survey Development Plan