R&D spending share of GDP in United States

Spending on research and development in United States was equal to 3.45% of GDP in 2023.

Measure: Research and development expenditure (UNESCO) Unit: % of GDP Data: 1996 to 2023 Source: World Bank
United States, 2023 3.45% % of GDP
Change from 2022 −0.04percentage points 2022: 3.49%
World, 2023 2.60% Official aggregate
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2023 1.84% Middle value of 35 countries
Position in 2023 5th of 84 See the full ranking

R&D spending share of GDP in United States over time

View
Places
2 selected
United States 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 United StatesWorld
2023 3.45% 2.60%
2022 3.49% 2.57%
2021 3.47% 2.52%
2020 3.42% 2.46%
2019 3.14% 2.26%
2018 2.99% 2.22%
2017 2.88% 2.14%
2016 2.84% 2.15%
2015 2.77% 2.10%
2014 2.71% 2.09%
2013 2.70% 1.98%
2012 2.67% 2.01%
2011 2.74% 1.98%
2010 2.71% 2.00%
2009 2.79% 2.01%
2008 2.74% 1.98%
2007 2.62% 1.92%
2006 2.55% 1.96%
2005 2.50% 1.95%
2004 2.49% 1.97%
2003 2.55% 2.02%
2002 2.55% 2.03%
2001 2.64% 2.06%
2000 2.62% 2.05%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of −0.04 percentage points from 3.49% in 2022.
  • Since 2013, when it was 2.70%, the figure has changed by +0.75 percentage points.
  • Among the 84 countries with data for 2023, United States has the 5th highest value.
  • The figure for the world in 2023 was 2.60%.

More for United States

All statistics for United States

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 United States
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