79.5 per cent of R&D expenditure in 2006 was made by businesses, 17.2% by the academic world and the remaining 3.3% by a range of public institutions.

The Basque R&D effort is due largely of the nature of the production system. Industry is a major component of this system, and most businesses involved are acutely aware of the continuing need to innovate in technology.

Most money and time in R&D terms is spent on engineering and technology, which absorb 73.60% of all funding and 70.68% of R&D personnel.

Regional businesses tend preferentially to research machinery, mechanical equipment, aerospace construction and metal manufacturing. Together, these three sectors absorbed  24% of all current R&D expenditure in the private sector.

In the services sector, companies assign a large part of their resources to researching telecommunications and software and providing R&D services for other businesses. Altogether they account for 19% of current R&D expenditure.