Dutch companies and research institutes spent over €13bn on R&D last year, a rise of 3% on 2013.

But while universities and industry increased overall spending on research, public institutions such as the RIVM public health institute and TNO spent less, the CBS said.

Total spending on R&D was around 2% of GDP, in line with previous years.

The CBS figures also show that more companies are involved in innovation, particularly in terms of production processes. In 2010 to 2012, 38% of firms said they were innovative, but this rose to 47% last year.