Policy dossier: United Kingdom
A one-country brief on United Kingdom in European quantum technologies for policy makers, built only from data this portal already holds. Every figure names its source and reference date; ratios come with the counts they are made of. Nothing here is a ranking or a composite score: counts describe catalogue coverage, not national capability.
Dossier generated 2026-11-04 02:50:39 (UTC). Missing data is listed under Gaps and caveats at the end.
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1. EU funding absorption
CORDIS covers Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe quantum projects only: no other EU programme, no national or regional funding.
| Country or group | Participations | EU contribution | Population (year) | GDP, current prices (year) | Participations per million inhabitants | EU contribution per inhabitant | Participations per EUR billion of GDP | EU contribution per EUR billion of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (this dossier) | 302 | EUR 165.8 million | 69,554,275 (2026) | - | 4.3 | EUR 2.38 | - | - |
| EU27 average (pooled) | 3,714 | EUR 2.28 billion | 451,990,314 (2026) | EUR 18,883.19 billion (2025) | 8.2 | EUR 5.04 | 0.20 | EUR 120,646 |
| Peer group average (pooled: FR, IT, DE, ES) | 2,197 | EUR 1.29 billion | 261,112,353 (2026) | EUR 11,475.78 billion (2025) | 8.4 | EUR 4.94 | 0.19 | EUR 112,445 |
| France (peer by population) | 649 | EUR 390.4 million | 69,112,309 (2026, provisional) | EUR 2,991.06 billion (2025, provisional) | 9.4 | EUR 5.65 | 0.22 | EUR 130,531 |
| Italy (peer by population) | 409 | EUR 177.1 million | 58,942,828 (2026, provisional) | EUR 2,265.00 billion (2025) | 6.9 | EUR 3.00 | 0.18 | EUR 78,191 |
| Germany (peer by population) | 798 | EUR 534.1 million | 83,467,117 (2026) | EUR 4,529.71 billion (2025, provisional) | 9.6 | EUR 6.40 | 0.18 | EUR 117,919 |
| Spain (peer by population) | 341 | EUR 188.7 million | 49,590,099 (2026, provisional) | EUR 1,690.01 billion (2025, provisional) | 6.9 | EUR 3.81 | 0.20 | EUR 111,676 |
Definitions: Participations by country; Net EU contribution to participants by country; Population, GDP and GERD (Eurostat); Participations per million inhabitants; Net EU contribution per inhabitant; Participations per EUR billion of GDP; Net EU contribution per EUR billion of GDP
Peer group: France (closest in population), Italy (closest in population), Germany (closest in population), Spain (closest in population). The peers are the 4 EU Member States closest to United Kingdom in population or in GDP, whichever is closer for each: the smaller of the absolute log ratios of the two figures, latest Eurostat year of each country, ties by country code. Candidates are the Member States with a CORDIS row and both Eurostat figures.
Method: participations and EU contribution are CORDIS totals over all start years in the catalogue; population on 1 January and GDP at current prices are the latest single year Eurostat publishes for each country, so the ratios correct for size, not for time. Group averages are pooled: the group totals divided by the group population or GDP, never a mean of country ratios. The EU27 average pools 27 Member States. A dash means that a figure is not published or that the EU contribution is zero; "less than" marks a positive figure too small to show at this precision.
Source: CORDIS, Publications Office of the European Union, retrieved 2026-10-16, reused under the European Commission reuse notice. Eurostat datasets tps00001 (Population on 1 January, updated 2026-09-30); nama_10_gdp (Gross domestic product (GDP) and main components (output, expenditure and income) - annual data, updated 2026-10-20), retrieved 2026-10-21, reused under the Eurostat copyright notice. The ratios are calculated by this portal; neither source is responsible for them.
2. Specialisation by application pillar
| Pillar | Projects of United Kingdom | Share of its projects | EU27 projects | EU27 share | Ratio (country share / EU27 share) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum computing and simulation | 78 | 35.9% | 516 | 48.3% | 0.74 |
| Quantum communication | 29 | 13.4% | 116 | 10.9% | 1.23 |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 48 | 22.1% | 189 | 17.7% | 1.25 |
| Enabling technologies and supply chain | fewer than 10 | not shown | 49 | 4.6% | not shown |
Definition: Specialisation by pillar against the EU27
Method: the share of the CORDIS quantum projects of the country in each pillar, divided by the same share for the EU27 (projects with at least one participant from a Member State). A ratio above 1 means the pillar weighs more in the projects of this country than in those of the EU27; it says nothing about size or quality. No count, share or ratio is shown from fewer than 10 projects of the country. Pillars follow the portal method (confirmed classification, else the taxonomy rules on the title, else a matched keyword suggestion); a project in several pillars counts in each, and 58 projects of this country are not placed in a pillar.
Source: CORDIS project snapshot, 1,256 projects (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe), retrieved 2026-10-16; counts computed by this portal on 2026-11-02 14:13:03 (UTC).
3. Collaboration: top partner countries
| Partner country | Shared projects |
|---|---|
| Germany | 89 |
| Italy | 57 |
| France | 56 |
| Spain | 43 |
| Netherlands | 41 |
| Switzerland | 38 |
| Austria | 34 |
| Denmark | 29 |
| Finland | 21 |
| Sweden | 21 |
Definition: Top partner countries
A project is shared when organisations of both countries take part in it; this shows co-participation, not the strength of a relationship. Counts cover CORDIS quantum projects only (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe).
Source: CORDIS, Publications Office of the European Union (CORDIS), retrieved 2026-10-16, reused under the European Commission reuse notice (Decision 2011/833/EU); shared projects counted by this portal.
4. National programmes and public investment
- National Quantum Strategy · National strategy or programme · 2024-2034 · as announced: GBP 2.5 billion (Government commitment to developing quantum technologies over the ten years from 2024) · checked 2026-10-21 · official source
Source: the public investment registry of this portal, compiled 2026-10-27 from official announcements; amounts are as announced, not disbursed, in the currency of the source, and are never added up. The registry is not exhaustive.
Definition: National programmes and public investment
National sources and cohesion funding on this portal
| Source | Publisher | Licence | Last read (UTC) | Published on this portal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway to Research (UK Research and Innovation) | UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) | Open Government Licence v3.0; contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 | 2026-10-31 | 2,546 projects |
| Find a Tender service (UK), OCDS API | Cabinet Office, United Kingdom | Open Government Licence v3.0; contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 | 2026-11-01 | 0 open notices |
| Contracts Finder (UK), search API | Crown Commercial Service and Cabinet Office, United Kingdom | Open Government Licence v3.0; contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 | 2026-11-01 | 0 open notices |
| Kohesio (EU cohesion policy projects) | European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) | CC0 1.0 (Cohesion Open Data Platform, dataset 2014-2020 Kohesio projects) | 2026-10-28 | 0 projects located in this country |
Definition: Records of connected national sources
Counts of records published on this portal at the time of the dossier, with node access; open notices only for procurement sources. Cohesion projects (Kohesio, EU cohesion policy, managed by national and regional authorities) are located in the country by the source; they are not in CORDIS and not part of the absorption figures. The record at each source is authoritative.
5. Infrastructure
EuroQCI: no EuroQCI project located in this country is in the catalogue. Cross-border EuroQCI projects listed as EU-wide are not attributed to a country.
The infrastructure catalogue has no entry located in this country.
Source: the infrastructure catalogue of this portal, compiled 2026-10-27 from official programme, government and host pages; a referral list, not confirmed by the providers.
6. Post-quantum cryptography readiness
Not covered: the PQC guide records the national guidance status of the 27 EU Member States only.
7. Approved evidence from published reports
- 26% Quantum-related job postings concentrate on technical and research occupations: computer science 26%, science and research 25%, education and training 10%; business, marketing and sales together stay under 10%. Reference period 2024; Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States; Observation; checked 2026-10-22. OECD and European Patent Office, Mapping the global quantum ecosystem (December 2025). Printed page 19, PDF page 19, Executive summary, 4. High technological complexity and skill requirements, First column, second paragraph.
- approximately 0.4% in 2015 to 1.1% by 2023 Quantum's share of public R&D project funding in the OECD Fundstat database rose from about 0.4% in 2015 to 1.1% in 2023, after a peak of 1.2% in 2022. Reference period 2015-2023; 19 OECD countries and EU programmes in OECD Fundstat; Observation; checked 2026-10-22. OECD and European Patent Office, Mapping the global quantum ecosystem (December 2025). Printed page 23, PDF page 23, Executive summary, 6. R&D-focused public policies, Figure E11 and its notes.
- 10 countries Ten of the countries QuantERA surveyed in 2023 confirmed a national funding programme or strategy for quantum technologies: Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Reference period 2023; QuantERA member countries (31 EU Member States and associated countries); Observation; checked 2026-10-22. QuantERA, Quantum Technologies Public Policies in Europe (Second edition, 2023). Printed page 16, PDF page 16, Key findings, National policies, National QT strategies and initiatives.
Values as the publisher states them, each with its edition and page. Groups of countries are named in full; a figure about a group is not a figure about this country alone. Estimates of different publishers are never added up or averaged.
Definition: Approved evidence from published reports
8. Gaps and caveats
- EU funding absorption: Eurostat publishes no GDP figure for this country, so no figure per EUR billion of GDP is shown.
- Specialisation: 1 of 4 pillars have fewer than 10 projects of this country: their share and ratio are not shown.
- Infrastructure: The infrastructure catalogue has no entry located in this country.
- Infrastructure: The catalogue has no EuroQCI project located in this country; cross-border EuroQCI projects listed as EU-wide are not attributed to a country.
- PQC readiness: The PQC guide covers the 27 EU Member States only.
- Always: CORDIS covers Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe quantum projects only, found by the word quantum in their title, acronym or topic; it is catalogue coverage, not a census. National budgets, private investment and other EU programmes are not in the absorption figures.
- Always: no league table or composite score is computed; a ratio is only as good as its counts, which are shown next to it.