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THE GLOBAL INDEX #068

R&D spending2020

Research and development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2024
Economies with data87 / 217No observation: 130
First-ranked country or territoryIsrael5.83 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2020
01Israel
5.83
02South Korea
4.52
03Sweden
3.5
04United States
3.42
05Belgium
3.37
06Japan
3.27
07Austria
3.21
08Germany
3.09
09Denmark
2.97
10United Kingdom
2.94

Complete ranking

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R&D spending · 2020 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01Israel5.832020
02South Korea4.522020
03Sweden3.52020
04United States3.422020
05Belgium3.372020
06Japan3.272020
07Austria3.212020
08Germany3.092020
09Denmark2.972020
10United Kingdom2.942020
11Finland2.932020
12Iceland2.492020
13China2.362020
14France2.272020
15Netherlands2.272020
16Norway2.242020
17Singapore2.162020
18Slovenia2.162020
19Czechia1.952020
20Canada1.932020
21Estonia1.732020
22Portugal1.612020
23Hungary1.582020
24Italy1.52020
25Greece1.492020
26United Arab Emirates1.492020
27Spain1.42020
28Poland1.372020
29Türkiye1.372020
30Thailand1.332020
31Croatia1.242020
32Brazil1.222020
33Ireland1.122020
34Lithuania1.122020
35Luxembourg1.12020
36Russia1.092020
37Hong Kong SAR China0.992020
38Malaysia0.952020
39Egypt0.922020
40Slovakia0.892020
41Serbia0.862020
42Bulgaria0.852020
43Cyprus0.832020
44Latvia0.762020
45Uruguay0.682020
46India0.652020
47South Africa0.62020
48Malta0.62020
49Argentina0.542020
50Belarus0.542020
51Cuba0.522020
52Saudi Arabia0.482020
53Romania0.462020
54Macao SAR China0.452020
55Ukraine0.42020
56Mauritius0.42020
57North Macedonia0.372020
58Chile0.342020
59Costa Rica0.332020
60Oman0.322020
61Georgia0.32020
62Mexico0.292020
63Colombia0.292020
64Indonesia0.282020
65Philippines0.282020
66Burkina Faso0.252020
67Moldova0.242020
68Panama0.232020
69Bermuda0.232020
70Azerbaijan0.222020
71Armenia0.212020
72Bosnia & Herzegovina0.22020
73Kuwait0.182020
74Peru0.172020
75El Salvador0.162020
76Paraguay0.162020
77Myanmar (Burma)0.162020
78Mongolia0.132020
79Turkmenistan0.132020
80Kazakhstan0.132020
81Uzbekistan0.132020
82Sri Lanka0.122020
83Tajikistan0.092020
84Kyrgyzstan0.082020
85Trinidad & Tobago0.062020
86Guatemala0.052020
87Iraq0.042020
87 / 87 · Economies with data

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 (130)

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · American Samoa · Andorra · Angola · Antigua & Barbuda · Aruba · Australia · Bahamas · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belize · Benin · Bhutan · Bolivia · Botswana · British Virgin Islands · Brunei · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Cayman Islands · Central African Republic · Chad · Channel Islands · 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 · Iran · Isle of Man · Jamaica · Jordan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Madagascar · Malawi · Maldives · Mali · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Micronesia · Monaco · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Nauru · Nepal · New Caledonia · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Pakistan · Palau · Palestinian Territories · Papua New Guinea · Puerto Rico · Qatar · Rwanda · Samoa · San Marino · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Sint Maarten · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Sudan · St. Kitts & Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Martin · St. Vincent & Grenadines · Sudan · Suriname · Switzerland · Syria · São Tomé & Príncipe · Tanzania · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Tunisia · Turks & Caicos Islands · Tuvalu · U.S. Virgin Islands · Uganda · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · 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 "
    }
  ]
}

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