R&D spending share of GDP in Japan

Spending on research and development in Japan was equal to 3.44% of GDP in 2023. The value for 2023 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1996.

Measure: Research and development expenditure (UNESCO) Unit: % of GDP Data: 1996 to 2023 Source: World Bank
Japan, 2023 3.44% % of GDP
Change from 2022 +0.04percentage points 2022: 3.40%
World, 2023 2.60% Official aggregate
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2023 1.84% Middle value of 35 countries
Position in 2023 6th of 84 See the full ranking

R&D spending share of GDP in Japan over time

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Japan World ×

% of GDP. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Research and development expenditure (UNESCO) (% of GDP), 2000 to 2023
Period JapanWorld
2023 3.44% 2.60%
2022 3.40% 2.57%
2021 3.27% 2.52%
2020 3.27% 2.46%
2019 3.22% 2.26%
2018 3.22% 2.22%
2017 3.17% 2.14%
2016 3.11% 2.15%
2015 3.24% 2.10%
2014 3.37% 2.09%
2013 3.28% 1.98%
2012 3.17% 2.01%
2011 3.21% 1.98%
2010 3.10% 2.00%
2009 3.20% 2.01%
2008 3.29% 1.98%
2007 3.29% 1.92%
2006 3.23% 1.96%
2005 3.13% 1.95%
2004 2.98% 1.97%
2003 2.99% 2.02%
2002 2.97% 2.03%
2001 2.92% 2.06%
2000 2.86% 2.05%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of +0.04 percentage points from 3.40% in 2022.
  • Since 2013, when it was 3.28%, the figure has changed by +0.16 percentage points.
  • Among the 84 countries with data for 2023, Japan has the 6th highest value.
  • The figure for the world in 2023 was 2.60%.

Source and dates

Original producer
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1996 to 2023 for Japan
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics