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Science & Technology —
Research & Development
R&D in Israel is carried out primarily in seven universities, dozens of
government and public research institutes and hundreds of civilian and
military enterprises. Significant research is also performed at medical
centers and by a number of public service firms, in fields such as telecommunications, electrical
and power production, and water resources management.
Government and public bodies are primary sources of R&D funding,
providing financial support for well over half of Israel's R&D
activities. The major share of these funds for civilian R&D purposes is
allocated for economic development, mainly in industrial and agricultural
spheres, which, in comparison to other countries, constitutes a very large
part of the total; over 40 percent is earmarked for advancement of
knowledge through national, bi-national and government research funds and
through the General University Funds provided by the Planning and Budgeting
Committee of the Council of Higher Education; the remainder is dedicated to
various health and social welfare fields.
Professional Personnel
Israel's large reservoir of qualified professional personnel is primarily
responsibile for its scientific and technological attainments. In 1996,
university graduates comprised 20 percent of the country's workers.
As the many highly-trained scientists, engineers and technicians
among the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union gradually enter the labor force, this percentage is rising
dramatically and will significantly affect Israel's scientific and
technological achievements for decades to come.
Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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