World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #068

R&D spending2023

Research and development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2024
Economies with data84 / 217No observation: 133
First-ranked country or territoryIsrael6.35 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2023
01Israel
6.35
04Sweden
3.6
06Japan
3.44
07Belgium
3.27
08Austria
3.26
10Germany
3.15

Complete ranking

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R&D spending · 2023 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01Israel6.352023
02Liechtenstein6.012023
03South Korea4.942023
04Sweden3.62023
05United States3.452023
06Japan3.442023
07Belgium3.272023
08Austria3.262023
09Switzerland3.222023
10Germany3.152023
11Finland3.092023
12Denmark3.052023
13United Kingdom2.682023
14Iceland2.642023
15China2.582023
16Netherlands2.272023
17France2.182023
18Slovenia2.132023
19Norway1.852023
20Estonia1.842023
21Czechia1.832023
22Canada1.812023
23Portugal1.692023
24Ireland1.592023
25Poland1.562023
26New Zealand1.552023
27Greece1.492023
28Spain1.492023
29Türkiye1.422023
30Croatia1.392023
31Italy1.382023
32Hungary1.382023
33Brazil1.192023
34Hong Kong SAR China1.112023
35Luxembourg1.072023
36Lithuania1.052023
37Slovakia1.032023
38Egypt1.032023
39Thailand0.942023
40Russia0.942023
41Serbia0.882023
42Latvia0.822023
43Kenya0.82023
44Bulgaria0.792023
45Rwanda0.782023
46Uruguay0.72023
47Cyprus0.682023
48Malta0.652023
49Argentina0.62023
50Belarus0.572023
51Romania0.522023
52Saudi Arabia0.492023
53Uganda0.442023
54Vietnam0.412023
55Cuba0.392023
56Algeria0.382023
57Oman0.382023
58North Macedonia0.372023
59Costa Rica0.342023
60Ukraine0.322023
61Macao SAR China0.272023
62Mexico0.272023
63Georgia0.252023
64Mauritius0.242023
65Moldova0.222023
66Bosnia & Herzegovina0.192023
67Armenia0.182023
68Azerbaijan0.182023
69Peru0.182023
70Pakistan0.162023
71Panama0.162023
72Mali0.152023
73Kazakhstan0.142023
74Paraguay0.142023
75Uzbekistan0.112023
76Bhutan0.112023
77El Salvador0.12023
78Burkina Faso0.12023
79Kuwait0.12023
80Lesotho0.092023
81Turkmenistan0.092023
82Kyrgyzstan0.052023
83Myanmar (Burma)0.022023
84Guatemala0.012023

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (133)

Afghanistan · Albania · American Samoa · Andorra · Angola · Antigua & Barbuda · Aruba · Australia · Bahamas · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bolivia · Botswana · British Virgin Islands · Brunei · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Cayman Islands · Central African Republic · Chad · Channel Islands · Chile · Colombia · Comoros · Congo - Brazzaville · Congo - Kinshasa · Curaçao · Côte d’Ivoire · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Faroe Islands · Fiji · French Polynesia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Gibraltar · Greenland · Grenada · Guam · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Isle of Man · Jamaica · Jordan · Kiribati · Kosovo · Laos · Lebanon · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Micronesia · Monaco · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Nauru · Nepal · New Caledonia · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · Palestinian Territories · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Puerto Rico · Qatar · Samoa · San Marino · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Sint Maarten · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sri Lanka · St. Kitts & Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Martin · St. Vincent & Grenadines · Sudan · Suriname · Syria · São Tomé & Príncipe · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad & Tobago · Tunisia · Turks & Caicos Islands · Tuvalu · U.S. Virgin Islands · United Arab Emirates · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Source & definition

Indicator definition
Research and development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
Unit
% of GDP
Source & definition
World Bank · GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They 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.

{
  "id": "GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS",
  "name": "Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They 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.",
  "sourceOrganization": "Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources/bulk, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), date accessed: 2025-03-26, date published: 2025-02",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "14",
      "value": "Science & Technology "
    }
  ]
}