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THE GLOBAL INDEX #068

R&D spending2021

Research and development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2024
Economies with data88 / 217No observation: 129
First-ranked country or territoryIsrael5.76 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2021
01Israel
5.76
02South Korea
4.6
03United States
3.47
04Sweden
3.42
05Belgium
3.41
06Japan
3.27
07Austria
3.26
08Switzerland
3.25
09Germany
3.08
10Finland
3.01

Complete ranking

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R&D spending · 2021 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01Israel5.762021
02South Korea4.62021
03United States3.472021
04Sweden3.422021
05Belgium3.412021
06Japan3.272021
07Austria3.262021
08Switzerland3.252021
09Germany3.082021
10Finland3.012021
11United Kingdom2.92021
12Iceland2.782021
13Denmark2.742021
14China2.382021
15Netherlands2.222021
16France2.212021
17Slovenia2.142021
18Singapore1.942021
19Czechia1.932021
20Norway1.892021
21Canada1.872021
22Australia1.862021
23Estonia1.752021
24Portugal1.672021
25Hungary1.632021
26United Arab Emirates1.492021
27New Zealand1.492021
28Greece1.432021
29Poland1.422021
30Italy1.412021
31Türkiye1.42021
32Spain1.42021
33Croatia1.242021
34Thailand1.212021
35Brazil1.132021
36Lithuania1.12021
37Ireland1.072021
38Luxembourg1.032021
39Hong Kong SAR China0.972021
40Russia0.972021
41Serbia0.952021
42Egypt0.912021
43Slovakia0.92021
44Cyprus0.782021
45Latvia0.772021
46Bulgaria0.772021
47Iran0.732021
48Qatar0.682021
49Uruguay0.612021
50South Africa0.612021
51Malta0.62021
52Argentina0.522021
53Romania0.472021
54Belarus0.462021
55Vietnam0.422021
56Saudi Arabia0.392021
57Ukraine0.382021
58Macao SAR China0.372021
59North Macedonia0.372021
60Mauritius0.372021
61Chile0.362021
62Cuba0.322021
63Oman0.292021
64Costa Rica0.272021
65Mexico0.272021
66Burkina Faso0.252021
67Georgia0.252021
68Moldova0.232021
69Azerbaijan0.212021
70Armenia0.212021
71Bosnia & Herzegovina0.192021
72Albania0.192021
73Panama0.182021
74Pakistan0.162021
75El Salvador0.162021
76Mali0.152021
77Paraguay0.142021
78Peru0.142021
79Kazakhstan0.132021
80Myanmar (Burma)0.122021
81Uzbekistan0.122021
82Mongolia0.12021
83Turkmenistan0.12021
84Kyrgyzstan0.072021
85Bolivia0.062021
86Guatemala0.062021
87Trinidad & Tobago0.052021
88Iraq0.042021
88 / 88 · 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.

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

No observation (129)

Afghanistan · Algeria · American Samoa · Andorra · Angola · Antigua & Barbuda · Aruba · Bahamas · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bhutan · Botswana · British Virgin Islands · Brunei · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Cayman Islands · Central African Republic · Chad · Channel Islands · 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 · Isle of Man · Jamaica · Jordan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kuwait · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Micronesia · Monaco · 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 · Rwanda · Samoa · San Marino · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Sint Maarten · Solomon Islands · Somalia · 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 · Tunisia · Turks & Caicos Islands · Tuvalu · U.S. Virgin Islands · Uganda · 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 "
    }
  ]
}

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