Around 51 000 women were involved in science and technology activities in Cuba in 2023, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) confirmed in the latest edition of its yearbook.

The group appears in the occupational category of managers, technicians, administrative, operatives and service workers, and with 50 633, represents the largest number in the last three years, the source said.

It underlined the fact that the figure constitutes an exponential growth since 2020, when there were 49 958; followed by 2021, with 42 623; and 2022, with 48 088.

The number of physical workers in the science and technology sector in 2023 was 91 130; according to their level of education, most of them at the higher education level, in addition to categorised researchers, especially professors, technologists and technicians.

In that period, investments in both cases amounted to 6 939 000 pesos, the bulk of which was dedicated to research and development, apart from innovation, and other actions.

With regard to innovation patents, applied for and granted, the Cuban Industrial Property Office registered 55, of which 17 are national and 38 foreign.

The ONEI also mentioned, in its annual report, titles of serial publications in science and technology, registration of industrial designs, patents of invention by country, science, technology and innovation entities, and by type of institutional organisations.