List of sovereign states by research and development spending



This is a list of countries by research and development (R&D) spending in real terms, based on data published by World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

According to World Bank, ″Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D) 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.″

According to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, ″Research and development (R&D) expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the total intramural expenditure on research and experimental development (R&D) performed in the national territory during a specific reference period expressed as a percentage of national gross domestic product (GDP).″

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ″Gross domestic spending on R&D is defined as the total expenditure (current and capital) on R&D carried out by all resident companies, research institutes, university and government laboratories, etc., in a country. It includes R&D funded from abroad, but excludes domestic funds for R&D performed outside the domestic economy.″

As of 2023, Israel leads the world in R&D spending as a percentage of GDP, followed by South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

List
The following table provides information on R&D spending, based on data published by World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The indicator is measured in USD constant prices using 2015 base year and Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) by OECD and as percentage of GDP.

Sorting is alphabetical by country code, according to ISO 3166-1 alpha-3.