The aim of the study was to continue the regular reporting on key innovation indicators for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and the corresponding technology and science fields. The study provides a concise and up-to-date overview of the state and development trends of research and innovation in the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries as well as in the scientific and technological fields of chemistry and pharmaceuticals.

Depending on the indicator under consideration, "chemistry" and "pharmaceuticals" were defined either as industrial sectors (R&D, innovation, production), as product groups (foreign trade), as technology fields (patents), as scientific disciplines (science, academic education), or as areas of activity (occupations, vocational training). This ensures that chemistry and pharmaceuticals are each viewed as an integrated system for producing, transmitting, and applying chemical and pharmaceutical knowledge, for transforming this knowledge into chemical and pharmaceutical products, and for manufacturing and marketing these products through the companies of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.