R&D Expenditure (% GDP) Ranking (2023)

In 2022, R&D expenditure (% GDP) was highest in Israel at 6.02%, followed by Liechtenstein at 5.87% and South Korea at 5.21%. The average across countries was 1.06%, the median was 0.62%, and Mauritania recorded the lowest R&D expenditure (% GDP) at 0.01%, according to the World Bank.

Data is available for the period 1996 to 2023 across 115 countries.

World Major Countries Americas Europe Asia Oceania Africa

Rank	Country	Current Value ↓	Previous Value	Year
1	Israel	6.02%	5.78%	2022
2	Liechtenstein	5.87%		2019
3	South Korea	5.21%	4.91%	2022
4	United States	3.59%	3.48%	2022
5	Belgium	3.41%	3.39%	2022
6	Japan	3.41%	3.28%	2022
7	Sweden	3.41%	3.4%	2022
8	Switzerland	3.31%	3.2%	2021
9	Austria	3.2%	3.26%	2022
10	Germany	3.13%	3.13%	2022
11	Finland	2.96%	2.99%	2022
12	United Kingdom	2.9%	2.94%	2021
13	Denmark	2.89%	2.76%	2022
14	Iceland	2.6%	2.78%	2022
15	China	2.56%	2.43%	2022
16	Netherlands	2.26%	2.27%	2022
17	France	2.23%	2.22%	2022
18	Singapore	2.16%	1.88%	2020
19	Slovenia	2.1%	2.13%	2022
20	Czech Republic	1.96%	2%	2022
21	Australia	1.86%	1.83%	2021
22	Estonia	1.78%	1.77%	2022
23	Canada	1.7%	1.71%	2023
24	Portugal	1.7%	1.67%	2022
25	Norway	1.56%	1.89%	2022
26	Greece	1.49%	1.46%	2022
27	United Arab Emirates	1.49%	1.49%	2021
28	New Zealand	1.47%	1.41%	2021
29	Poland	1.45%	1.43%	2022
30	Spain	1.44%	1.41%	2022
31	Croatia	1.4%	1.23%	2022
32	Hungary	1.39%	1.64%	2022
33	Italy	1.39%	1.43%	2022
34	Turkey	1.32%	1.4%	2022
35	Thailand	1.16%	1.21%	2022
36	Brazil	1.15%	1.21%	2020
37	Hong Kong	1.1%	1.07%	2023
38	Lithuania	1.05%	1.1%	2022
39	Egypt	1.03%	1.02%	2023
40	Luxembourg	0.98%	1.04%	2022
41	Slovakia	0.98%	0.92%	2022
42	Ireland	0.96%	1.11%	2022
43	Malaysia	0.95%	1.04%	2020
44	Serbia	0.95%	0.97%	2023
45	Russia	0.93%	0.96%	2022
46	Kenya	0.81%	0.41%	2023
47	Rwanda	0.79%	0.76%	2023
48	Latvia	0.76%	0.75%	2022
49	Bulgaria	0.75%	0.77%	2022
50	Cyprus	0.75%	0.8%	2022
51	Tunisia	0.75%	0.72%	2019
52	Iran	0.73%	0.79%	2021
53	Qatar	0.68%	0.53%	2021
54	India	0.65%	0.66%	2020
55	Namibia	0.65%	0.35%	2022
56	Uruguay	0.63%	0.61%	2022
57	South Africa	0.62%	0.62%	2022
58	Malta	0.6%	0.65%	2022
59	Belarus	0.58%	0.47%	2023
60	Saudi Arabia	0.56%	0.46%	2023
61	Argentina	0.55%	0.52%	2022
62	Algeria	0.48%	0.06%	2017
63	Romania	0.46%	0.47%	2022
64	Vietnam	0.42%	0.42%	2021
65	North Macedonia	0.4%	0.38%	2023
66	Congo - Brazzaville	0.38%		2022
67	Oman	0.37%	0.28%	2023
68	Chile	0.36%	0.34%	2021
69	Cuba	0.36%	0.32%	2022
70	Montenegro	0.36%	0.5%	2019
71	Costa Rica	0.34%	0.27%	2022
72	Ukraine	0.33%	0.33%	2023
73	Philippines	0.32%	0.16%	2018
74	Uganda	0.31%	0.14%	2023
75	Colombia	0.29%	0.32%	2020
76	Brunei	0.28%	0.04%	2018
77	Indonesia	0.28%	0.27%	2020
78	Nigeria	0.28%	0.13%	2019
79	Ethiopia	0.27%	0.6%	2017
80	Mexico	0.27%	0.26%	2023
81	Macao SAR China	0.26%	0.44%	2023
82	Burkina Faso	0.25%	0.25%	2021
83	Georgia	0.25%	0.23%	2023
84	Bermuda	0.23%	0.26%	2020
85	Mauritius	0.23%	0.31%	2023
86	Moldova	0.22%	0.23%	2023
87	Burundi	0.21%	0.11%	2018
88	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0.19%	0.19%	2023
89	Armenia	0.18%	0.21%	2023
90	Azerbaijan	0.18%	0.15%	2023
91	Mali	0.17%	0.16%	2021
92	Pakistan	0.16%	0.16%	2023
93	Panama	0.16%	0.18%	2023
94	Peru	0.16%	0.14%	2022
95	El Salvador	0.14%	0.16%	2022
96	Kazakhstan	0.14%	0.12%	2023
97	Turkmenistan	0.14%	0.1%	2022
98	Uzbekistan	0.13%	0.16%	2023
99	Paraguay	0.12%	0.14%	2022
100	Sri Lanka	0.11%	0.12%	2022
101	Kuwait	0.1%	0.08%	2023
102	Tajikistan	0.09%	0.09%	2020
103	Mongolia	0.08%	0.1%	2022
104	Gambia	0.07%	0.08%	2018
105	Syria	0.07%	0.02%	2022
106	Guatemala	0.06%	0.05%	2021
107	Honduras	0.06%	0.06%	2019
108	Kyrgyzstan	0.06%	0.07%	2023
109	Trinidad & Tobago	0.05%	0.05%	2022
110	Iraq	0.04%	0.04%	2021
111	Myanmar	0.02%	0.04%	2023
112	Madagascar	0.01%	0.01%	2017
113	Mauritania	0.01%		2018

R&D Expenditure (% GDP) Ranking (2023) : Definition

R&D Expenditure (% GDP) measures total spending on research and development during the reporting year, expressed as a percentage of nominal GDP.