Countries ranked by Research spending (share of GDP)

Spending on research and development, as a share of GDP.

#1 Israel (6.35%), #2 Liechtenstein (6.01%), #3 South Korea (4.94%). The last place is Guatemala (0.01%).

How to read this number

Spending on research and development (basic research, applied research and experimental development) by business, government, higher education and private non-profit sectors, as a share of GDP. It includes current and capital spending.

This is a share of GDP, so a country with a large economy can spend a large amount even with a low share.

  • Countries listed: 130 (of 193)
  • Data years: 2015–2024 (differs by country)

Map

Ranking table

Sorted from the highest value

RankCountryResearch spending (share of GDP)YearBar
1 Israel 6.35% 2023
2 Liechtenstein 6.01% 2023
3 South Korea 4.94% 2023
4 Sweden 3.60% 2023
5 United States 3.45% 2023
6 Japan 3.44% 2023
7 Belgium 3.27% 2023
8 Austria 3.26% 2023
9 Switzerland 3.22% 2023
10 Germany 3.15% 2023
11 Finland 3.09% 2023
12 Denmark 3.05% 2023
13 United Kingdom 2.68% 2023
14 Iceland 2.64% 2023
15 China 2.58% 2023
16 Netherlands 2.27% 2023
17 France 2.18% 2023
18 Slovenia 2.13% 2023
19 Australia 1.86% 2021
20 Norway 1.85% 2023
21 Estonia 1.84% 2023
22 Czechia 1.83% 2023
23 Singapore 1.81% 2022
24 Canada 1.79% 2024
25 Portugal 1.69% 2023
26 Ireland 1.59% 2023
27 Poland 1.56% 2023
28 New Zealand 1.55% 2023
29 United Arab Emirates 1.49% 2021
30 Greece 1.49% 2023
31 Spain 1.49% 2023
32 Türkiye 1.42% 2023
33 Croatia 1.39% 2023
34 Italy 1.38% 2023
35 Hungary 1.38% 2023
36 Brazil 1.19% 2023
37 Luxembourg 1.07% 2023
38 Lithuania 1.05% 2023
39 Slovakia 1.03% 2023
40 Egypt 1.02% 2024
41 Malaysia 1.01% 2022
42 Serbia 0.94% 2024
43 Russia 0.94% 2024
44 Thailand 0.94% 2023
45 Latvia 0.82% 2023
46 Kenya 0.81% 2024
47 Bulgaria 0.79% 2023
48 Rwanda 0.78% 2023
49 Tunisia 0.75% 2019
50 Iran 0.73% 2021
51 Uruguay 0.70% 2023
52 Jordan 0.70% 2016
53 Cyprus 0.68% 2023
54 Qatar 0.68% 2021
55 Malta 0.65% 2023
56 Namibia 0.65% 2022
57 India 0.65% 2020
58 Saudi Arabia 0.64% 2024
59 South Africa 0.61% 2022
60 Argentina 0.60% 2023
61 Belarus 0.59% 2024
62 Senegal 0.58% 2015
63 Romania 0.52% 2023
64 Algeria 0.44% 2024
65 Cuba 0.44% 2024
66 Uganda 0.44% 2023
67 Vietnam 0.41% 2023
68 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.41% 2015
69 Chile 0.39% 2022
70 Oman 0.39% 2024
71 Republic of the Congo 0.38% 2022
72 North Macedonia 0.37% 2024
73 Ukraine 0.37% 2024
74 Montenegro 0.36% 2019
75 Costa Rica 0.34% 2023
76 Mozambique 0.31% 2015
77 Colombia 0.29% 2020
78 Armenia 0.29% 2024
79 Nigeria 0.28% 2019
80 Indonesia 0.28% 2020
81 Eswatini 0.28% 2015
82 Brunei 0.28% 2018
83 Philippines 0.28% 2020
84 Ethiopia 0.27% 2017
85 Georgia 0.26% 2024
86 Mauritius 0.26% 2024
87 Mexico 0.25% 2024
88 Chad 0.23% 2016
89 Togo 0.22% 2024
90 Moldova 0.22% 2024
91 Bosnia & Herzegovina 0.21% 2024
92 Burundi 0.21% 2018
93 Azerbaijan 0.21% 2024
94 Seychelles 0.20% 2016
95 Albania 0.20% 2022
96 Panama 0.20% 2024
97 Bahrain 0.19% 2024
98 Malawi 0.18% 2019
99 Peru 0.18% 2023
100 Pakistan 0.16% 2023
101 Kazakhstan 0.16% 2024
102 Andorra 0.16% 2022
103 Mali 0.15% 2023
104 Paraguay 0.14% 2023
105 Nicaragua 0.11% 2015
106 Sri Lanka 0.11% 2022
107 Burkina Faso 0.10% 2024
108 Uzbekistan 0.10% 2024
109 El Salvador 0.10% 2023
110 Bhutan 0.10% 2024
111 Lesotho 0.09% 2023
112 Turkmenistan 0.09% 2023
113 Tajikistan 0.09% 2020
114 Kuwait 0.09% 2024
115 Cambodia 0.09% 2015
116 Mongolia 0.08% 2022
117 Côte d’Ivoire 0.07% 2016
118 Gambia 0.07% 2018
119 Bolivia 0.06% 2021
120 Honduras 0.06% 2019
121 Kyrgyzstan 0.05% 2024
122 Trinidad & Tobago 0.05% 2022
123 Syria 0.04% 2022
124 Iraq 0.04% 2021
125 Angola 0.03% 2016
126 Papua New Guinea 0.03% 2016
127 Myanmar 0.02% 2023
128 Madagascar 0.01% 2017
129 Mauritania 0.01% 2018
130 Guatemala 0.01% 2023

Each value is the latest year available for that country (see the Year column), so the years can differ from country to country.

Data is available for 130 of 193 countries. The rest are not listed.

Source: Research and development expenditure (% of GDP), indicator GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS. Processed by this site. data.worldbank.org

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