New indicators, for the first time developed at a sufficiently granular level to capture the differences between urban, intermediate, and rural regions, confirm a persistent urban-rural gap, but also pinpoint rural areas which stand out. This excellence is often connected to specialised industries, public research facilities or nearby urban innovation hubs, according to a JRC analysis.
The results are published in a JRC study which explores the variety of innovation performances across EU territories, drawing on newly developed granular metrics on R&D investment, patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. While innovation activity remains highly concentrated in urban regions, evidence points to diversities among rural territories and pockets of rural regions with strong innovation capacity.
As diverse structural barriers continue to hinder the capacity of rural and peripheral areas to benefit from innovation-driven growth, it is essential to develop suitable, small-scale territorial statistics. These metrics paint an accurate geography of the innovation gap and highlight the existing potential beyond urban centres.
They also point to the importance of place-based policies that recognise territorial diversity and support more balanced, innovation-driven competitiveness across Europe.
Urban regions lead in R&D investment, with notable rural outperformers
R&D expenditure is a core measure of investments in knowledge creation and technological innovation. In 2022, EU-27 regions spent roughly EUR 313.6 billion, corresponding to an average R&D intensity of around 2.2% of EU GDP, although with significant variations across EU countries.
Urban regions invest approximately 2.4% of their GDP in R&D, accounting for more than half of the total R&D expenditure across the EU. This highlights the key role of large urban centres, such as Stuttgart, Brussels, Innsbruck, Stockholm, Toulouse, Berlin, Vienna, Helsinki, as research and technological development hubs.
Rural regions on the other hand invest on average 1.6% of their GDP. Nevertheless, over 20% of rural regions perform above the overall EU R&D intensity average– remarkable examples are regions in Western Germany (Bautzen, Helmstedt), Upper Austria (Traunviertel, Innviertel) and south-western France (Lot, Tarn-et-Garonne), where R&D investment exceeds 3% of GDP.
Urban regions dominate patenting, with pockets of rural excellence
Patents capture the geography of technological innovation. Against an average of 380 applications per 100,000 inhabitants across the EU, patent activity is highly concentrated in around one-fifth of all EU regions. Leading innovation hubs are located mainly in Central and Northern Europe, especially in large metropolitan and specialised industrial regions such as Erlangen (Germany), Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant (Netherlands), Munich (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland) or Paris (France).
The highest patenting rates are found in urban regions, averaging over 500 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with some 180 in rural regions. Yet several rural regions outperform the EU average – for instance Hildburghausen (Germany) stands out as Europe’s top rural region with around 3,300 patent applications per 100,000 inhabitants. Some rural regions in Finland, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands perform above the EU urban average.
These cases often reflect strong industrial specialisation and close links with nearby urban innovation hubs, showing the innovation potential of rural areas under the right circumstances.
Trade marks concentrate in cities, but standout rural regions display niche specialisations
Trademark activity reflects where firms build customer recognition and develop new products or enter new markets. As of June 2025, the EU holds a stock of nearly one million EU trade marks (EUTM), with Germany accounting for about 30% of the total stock, followed by Italy, Spain and France.
Most trade marks come from a small number of regions and concentrate in major urban and industrial centres, with Munich topping the list (more than 1,600 trademarks per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Paris, Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, Tallinn, Salzburg, Milan and Stockholm.
With nearly 350 trade marks per 100,000 inhabitants, urban regions record the highest levels of trademarking, compared to roughly 101 in rural regions. However, some rural regions perform above the EU average and feature niche specialisations, export-oriented activities or cross-border business ecosystems. This is the case in Cochem-Zell (Germany), Åland (Finland) Traunviertel (Austria), Mantova (Italy), South-West (Ireland), Vestjylland (Denmark) or Teruel (Spain), among others.
Industrial designs reveal rural strengths in specialised and craft-based sectors, while cities lead
Industrial designs represent the creative, product-oriented side of industrial innovation. As of June 2025, around 551,000 Registered EU Designs were recorded, with Luxembourg leading in designs per capita.
Design activity is particularly concentrated in Central Europe, where about one-quarter of EU regions hold three-quarters of the total stock – unlike trade marks, which are more prominent in Southern and Baltic countries. Leading design hubs include Rosenheim Kreisfreie (Germany), Tiroler Unterland (Austria), Erlangen-Höchstadt, Stuttgart, Rottweil (Germany), Paris (France) and Zuidoost-Noord (Netherlands), all exceeding 800 valid designs per 100,000 inhabitants.
On average, urban regions record more than 150 designs per 100,000 inhabitants compared with 56 in rural regions, with many of them performing well below the EU average. Yet, several rural regions outperform, exceeding 400 designs per 100,000 inhabitants – for instance, Steyr-Kirchdorf (Austria), Pirmasens, Karlsruhe-Stadt, and Main-Tauber-Kreis (Germany), Vestjylland (Denmark), Tarnowski (Poland) and Vercelli (Italy). These territories often combine niche manufacturing and craft-based industries with strong design traditions. Vercelli, for example, is known for its large rice-growing areas and also specialises in textile and fashion-related design.
Innovation potential: an opportunity for all regions
Innovation is a key engine of competitiveness and territorial cohesion in the EU. The data collected in this study, as well as in previous analyses, reveal that innovation capacity remains unevenly distributed across European regions.
The positive performances of several rural and intermediate regions point to the importance of urban-rural links, public-private cooperation, and tailored measures helping rural territories harness their potential.
Background
As part of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas, the European Startup Village Forum initiative, coordinated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), seeks to generate evidence on the patterns and drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship in rural Europe, and to connect policymakers, practitioners and local communities in order to shape actions supporting locally-driven innovative entrepreneurship.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em JRC.
