List of sovereign states by research and development spending explained

This is a list of countries by research and development (R&D) spending in real terms, based on data published by World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

According to World Bank, ″Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D) include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.″^[1]

According to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, ″Research and development (R&D) expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the total intramural expenditure on research and experimental development (R&D) performed in the national territory during a specific reference period expressed as a percentage of national gross domestic product (GDP).″^[2]

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ″Gross domestic spending on R&D is defined as the total expenditure (current and capital) on R&D carried out by all resident companies, research institutes, university and government laboratories, etc., in a country. It includes R&D funded from abroad, but excludes domestic funds for R&D performed outside the domestic economy.″^[3]

As of 2022, Israel leads the world in R&D spending as a percentage of GDP, followed by South Korea, the United States, Japan, Belgium and Sweden.

List

The following table provides information on R&D spending, based on data published by World Bank,^[4] United Nations Economic Commission for Europe,^[5] and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.^[3] The indicator is measured in USD constant prices using 2015 base year and purchasing power parities (PPPs) by OECD and as percentage of GDP.

Sorting is alphabetical by country code, according to ISO 3166-1 alpha-3.

+ Research and development expenditure	Country	WB^[6]		UNECE^[7]		OECD^[8] ^[9]
Research and development expenditure		Research and development expenditure		Gross domestic spending on R&D
% of GDP	Year	% of GDP	Year	% of GDP		Year
	%	2016
	%	2008
	%	2021
	%	2021
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2006
	%	2019
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2018
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2014
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2020
	%	2009
	%	2020
	%	2018
	%	2013
	%	2022	%	2022	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2020
	%	2021
	%	2016
	%	2015
	%	2022
	%	2020
	%	2011
	%	2021
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2017
	%	2014
	%	2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2017
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2003
	%	2009
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2010
	%	2018
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2004
	%	2021
	%	2005
	%	2022
	%	2019
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2020
	%	2020
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2019
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2002
	%	2016
	%	2021			%		2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2015
	%	2021			%		2022
	%	2022
	%	2002
	%	1999
	%	2020
	%	2015
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2022
	%	2010
	%	2005
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2017
	%	2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2022
	%	2019	%	2019
	%	2022
	%	2015
	%	2018
	%	2022
	%	2020
	%	2014
	%	2019
	%	2015
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2010
	%	2021
	%	2022
	%	2021
	%	2022
	%	2022
	%	2018
	%	2016
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2015
	%	2022	%	2022	%		2022
	%	2021
	%	2013
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2019
	%	2022
	%	2005
	%	2015
	%	2020
	%	2021
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2015
	%	2016
	%	2015
	%	2016
	%	2014
	%	2021
	%	2020	%	2020
	%	2021
	%	2019
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2013
	%	2014
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2021
	%	2021	%	2021	%		2022
	%	2022	%	2022
	%	2002
	%	2016
	%	2007
	%	2021
	%	2020
	%	2008						- class="sortbottom static-row-header" style="background-color:#ececec;"						%		2022
					%		2022

See also

• Business R&D intensity by country
• List of companies by research and development spending
• List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles
• List of countries by number of scientists and researchers
• List of U.S. states by research and development spending
• Science of science policy
• Science policy

Notes and References

1. Web site: World Bank . Metadata Glossary Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) . databank.worldbank.org . 2024-10-16.
2. Web site: United Nations . Indicator 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP . unstats.un.org . 2024-10-16.
3. Web site: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . Gross domestic spending on R&D . data.oecd.org . 2024-10-16.
4. Web site: World Bank . Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) . data.worldbank.org . 2024-10-16.
5. Web site: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . Indicator 9.5.1 Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP, % . w3.unece.org . 2024-10-16.
6. Web site: Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) . World Bank . 2024-10-16.
7. Web site: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP, % . United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . 2024-10-16.
8. Web site: Gross domestic spending on R&D (% of GDP) . Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . 2024-10-16.
9. Web site: Gross domestic spending on R&D (Million US dollars) . Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . 2024-10-16.