Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

Fig. 1-25: Cooperation on implementing new ideas at companies, 2019
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
SW
E
DEU
NL
D
DN
K
FIN
AU
T
LU
X
BE
L
IRL
GBR
FR
A
ES
T
CZ
E
Ø E
U-2
8
LT
U
SV
N
M
LT
PR
T
CY
P
SV
K
BG
R
LV
A
ITA
GRC
ES
P
HU
N
POL
HRV
RO
U
CH
E
US
A
CA
N
AU
S
CH
N
ZAF
BR
A
EU Member States
Reference countries
W
ei
gh
te
d a
vera
ge
Source: World Economic Forum (2020a). Graphic: iit.

---

1. Current Trends
53
at least 33% academics in 2018. This percentage is 
then compared to the EU average for 2011. 
Fig. 1-26 shows that Austria had 19% more em-
ployees in knowledge-intensive economic sub-sec-
tors in 2018 than the EU did in 2011. Taking the EU as 
a whole, this figure was 9% higher in 2018 than in 
2011. Austria thus boasts an above-average percent-
age of employees in knowledge-intensive jobs com-
pared with the 2011 EU average. Switzerland and ten 
EU countries score higher than Austria. 
Overall, the results indicate that, although Austria 
ranks above the average, a few countries have per-
formed much better in the index. One explanation 
could be the relatively low percentage of the popula-
tion with a higher education degree – 33% in 2018 
compared with e.g. 47% in Ireland (see Fig. 1-21). This 
percentage is used to define knowledge-intensive 
56 See European Commission (2019c).
57 Note that the indicator can also be influenced by the relative sizes of a country’s manufacturing and services sectors. The bigger 
the country’s manufacturing sector is relative to its economy as a whole, the lower its index score might be. 
sectors,
56
without accounting for the fact that peo-
ple with vocational qualifications also have a major 
hand in making fields of activity more knowledge-in-
tensive in countries with highly developed vocational 
education systems such as Austria.
57