In a new study by Ernst & Young AG , Switzerland ranked sixth globally for amount of investment in research and development, only being surpassed in Europe by Germany. 12 Swiss companies appeared on the top 500 R&D list with a total investment of 34 billion euros between them in 2025.
When ranked by amount of investment in R&D, the companies of each country are ranked as follows (amounts in billions of Euros)
- United States (495)
- China and Hong Kong (120)
- Japan (90)
- Germany (79)
- South Korea (40)
- Switzerland (34)
However, once ranked by itensity, defined as the percentage of revenue spent on R&D, Swiss companies rank third globally.
- The Netherlands (9.7%)
- United States (9.2%)
- Switzerland (8.4%)
- Sweden (7.2%)
- Germany (6.2%)
- United Kingdom (5.9%)
- France (5.5%)
Of the ten companies who invested most in R&D, seven were American and two were European. American companies led with Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta each investing 96.2, 54.2, and 50.9 billion euros respectively. Volkswagon placed seventh with 18.4 billion, followed by Switzerland in eighth place with Roche who invested 14.3 billion. Novartis also ranked on this list, placing 18th with expenditures of 9.9 billion.
Stefan Rösch-Rütsche, Country Managing Partner of EY in Switzerland, explains: “The 14 Swiss companies surveyed among the top 500 demonstrate a globally high budget for research and development. This is a positive sign for Switzerland as a centre for innovation and research and shows that Swiss corporations remain willing to invest heavily in R&D in order to secure global competitiveness.”
As amount of investment in R&D grows worldwide, Switzerland has remained competitive.