R&D expenditures in Turkey approached nearly 1 trillion lira over a decade. During this period, the number of personnel involved in R&D activities reached 290,850. Expenditures in high technology surpassed 66 billion lira. In Turkey, approximately 1 trillion lira was spent on R&D activities over a period of 10 years. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), R&D expenditures, the cornerstone of defense industry and technology, reached a record high over 10 years. In 2014, R&D expenditures were 17 billion 598 million lira, rising to 22 billion 741 million lira in 2015. In 2021, R&D expenditures reached the level of 101 billion 738 million lira. Expenditures reached 198 billion 670 million lira in 2022 and hit a record level of 377 billion 542 million lira last year. Thus, R&D expenditures increased approximately 21.5 times from 2014 to 2023. The share of gross domestic R&D expenditure in GDP stood at 1.01% in 2014, reaching 1.42% of the 26 trillion 545 billion 722 million lira GDP in 2023. Over the 10-year period, more than half of the financing for R&D expenditures was covered by companies, while the government’s contribution to financing was around 32%. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF PERSONNEL The total number of R&D personnel increased by 135,406 people during this period. The number of personnel in full-time equivalent (FTE) was 155,444 people in 2014, rising to 290,850 people in 2023. The number of female R&D personnel, totaling 99,195 people, constituted 34.1% of the total R&D personnel, a share that was 34,826 people, or 30.2%, in 2014. INCREASE IN RATIO OF DOCTORAL PERSONNEL Last year, when the educational status of R&D personnel was examined, it was observed that 38.3% had a bachelor’s degree. This was followed by 31% with a doctoral or equivalent degree, 21.4% with a master’s degree, 4.9% with a vocational school degree, and 4.4% with high school or below. The region with the highest R&D expenditures last year was again Ankara, as in 2014. Ankara was followed by the Istanbul and Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, and Yalova region. DOUBLING OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY EXPENDITURES When looking at R&D expenditures in manufacturing industry by technology level, data from the period from 2015 to 2017, when records began to be kept, showed that investments in medium-high technology led the way. Following steps taken in line with the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s National Technology Move, emphasis was placed on high technology investments in later periods. In this context, while R&D expenditure in high technology was 2 billion 332 million lira in 2015, this figure increased 28 times over 9 years to 66 billion 265 million lira. MOST R&D IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY When enterprises conducting R&D activities were classified according to technology levels, those involved in high technology activities stood out. Only last year, it was observed that enterprises engaged in high technology activities carried out 47.5% of the 139 billion 469 million lira R&D spending in the manufacturing industry. 40% of total R&D spending in manufacturing industry was carried out by enterprises involved in medium-high technology activities, 8.5% by those involved in medium-low technology activities, and 4% by those involved in low technology activities.