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Research spending and research workforce

Observed

R&D share of GDP rose from 1.96 percent in 1996 to 2.6 percent in 2023; researchers per million rose from 1,080.91 researchers per million people in 2000 to 1,651.59 researchers per million people in 2020 (World).

As of
2023
Geography
World
Ingested
2026-09-07 05:31 UTC
Observed series

Research spending and research workforce, World

Observed
  • R&D share of GDPpercent of GDP
  • Researchers per millionresearchers per million people
1.822.22.42.61,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001996200020052010201520202023PERCENT OF GDPRESEARCHERS PER MILLION PEOPLER&D share of GDPR&D share of GDP, 1996: 1.96 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 1997: 1.96 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 1998: 1.97 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 1999: 2.05 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2000: 2.05 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2001: 2.06 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2002: 2.03 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2003: 2.02 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2004: 1.97 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2005: 1.95 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2006: 1.96 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2007: 1.92 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2008: 1.98 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2009: 2.01 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2010: 2 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2011: 1.98 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2012: 2.01 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2013: 1.98 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2014: 2.09 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2015: 2.1 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2016: 2.15 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2017: 2.14 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2018: 2.22 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2019: 2.26 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2020: 2.46 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2021: 2.52 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2022: 2.57 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2023: 2.6 percent of GDPR&D share of GDP, 2023: 2.6 percent of GDPResearchers per millionResearchers per million, 2000: 1,080.91 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2005: 1,195.01 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2010: 1,267.05 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2015: 1,380.79 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2018: 1,523.82 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2020: 1,651.59 researchers per million peopleResearchers per million, 2020: 1,651.59 researchers per million people2.61,651.59
R&D share of GDP: 28 points, 1996 to 2023; Researchers per million: 6 points, 2000 to 2020
Data table (28 rows, 2 series)
Research spending and research workforce. Line chart of R&D share of GDP (percent of GDP), Researchers per million (researchers per million people), 1996 to 2023. R&D share of GDP rose from 1.96 percent in 1996 to 2.6 percent in 2023; researchers per million rose from 1,080.91 researchers per million people in 2000 to 1,651.59 researchers per million people in 2020 (World). Data table below.
PeriodR&D share of GDP (percent of GDP)Researchers per million (researchers per million people)Observation ids
20232.5974no data102615
20222.5712no data102616
20212.5228no data102617
20202.45611,651.5852102618, 118861
20192.2634no data102619
20182.21821,523.8186102620, 118862
20172.142no data102621
20162.1487no data102622
20152.10431,380.7874102623, 118863
20142.0866no data102624
20131.9752no data102625
20122.0129no data102626
20111.9817no data102627
20101.99891,267.0536102628, 118864
20092.0139no data102629
20081.9778no data102630
20071.9248no data102631
20061.9595no data102632
20051.94741,195.0053102633, 118865
20041.9674no data102634
20032.0159no data102635
20022.0264no data102636
20012.0622no data102637
20002.0451,080.912102638, 118866
19992.0465no data102639
19981.9718no data102640
19971.9627no data102641
19961.9649no data102642
Regions and income groups are World Bank aggregates, not continents.
World Bank, World Development Indicators, series GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS; World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6
How to read it

Series and transformations

Two units, two axes: R&D spending as a share of GDP on the left, full-time-equivalent researchers per million people on the right. World coverage for researchers is sparse.

Numbers in the takeaway

  • 1.96 percent of GDP: R&D share of GDP, 1996, observation 102642
  • 2.6 percent of GDP: R&D share of GDP, 2023, observation 102615
  • 1,080.91 researchers per million people: Researchers per million, 2000, observation 118866
  • 1,651.59 researchers per million people: Researchers per million, 2020, observation 118861

The sentence is composed by a fixed template from these stored values on every request. Nothing in it is estimated.

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Sources

Where the numbers come from

  • World Bank, World Development Indicators, GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS
  • World Bank, World Development Indicators, SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6