Research and development expenditure (Eurostat)
Gross domestic expenditure on research and development by businesses, government, higher education and private non-profit organisations, as a percentage of GDP.
35 countries have a value for 2024, the latest period with data for most countries. Some countries have newer figures; see the ranking below for each country's latest year.
Trend over time
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The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of GDP. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | European Union | Germany | France | Spain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | 3.07%p (provisional) | 2.19%p (provisional) | – |
| 2024 | 2.26%e (estimated) | 3.12% | 2.18% | 1.50% |
| 2023 | 2.25%e (estimated) | 3.10% | 2.17% | 1.49% |
| 2022 | 2.22%e (estimated) | 3.03% | 2.22% | 1.40% |
| 2021 | 2.24%e (estimated) | 3.05% | 2.21% | 1.40% |
| 2020 | 2.28%e (estimated) | 3.06% | 2.27% | 1.40% |
| 2019 | 2.21%e (estimated) | 3.09% | 2.20% | 1.24% |
| 2018 | 2.17%e (estimated) | 3.03% | 2.20% | 1.23% |
| 2017 | 2.14% | 2.98% | 2.20% | 1.20% |
| 2016 | 2.10%e (estimated) | 2.88% | 2.22% | 1.18% |
| 2015 | 2.10% | 2.87% | 2.22% | 1.21% |
| 2014 | 2.09%e (estimated) | 2.82% | 2.22% | 1.23% |
| 2013 | 2.08%e (estimated) | 2.78% | 2.23% | 1.27% |
| 2012 | 2.06%e (estimated) | 2.82% | 2.23% | 1.29% |
| 2011 | 2.00%e (estimated) | 2.75% | 2.19% | 1.33% |
| 2010 | 1.96%e (estimated) | 2.68% | 2.18%b (break in time series) | 1.35% |
| 2009 | 1.96%e (estimated) | 2.69% | 2.21% | 1.36% |
| 2008 | 1.87%e (estimated) | 2.57% | 2.06% | 1.32% |
| 2007 | 1.79%e (estimated) | 2.42% | 2.03% | 1.24% |
| 2006 | 1.80%e (estimated) | 2.43% | 2.05% | 1.18% |
| 2005 | 1.78%e (estimated) | 2.40% | 2.06% | 1.10% |
| 2004 | 1.79%e (estimated) | 2.40% | 2.10%b (break in time series) | 1.04% |
| 2003 | 1.82%e (estimated) | 2.44% | 2.13% | 1.02% |
| 2002 | 1.83%e (estimated) | 2.41% | 2.19% | 0.96% |
| 2001 | 1.82%e (estimated) | 2.38% | 2.15% | 0.89% |
Flags: p provisional; e estimated; b break in time series . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- Among the 35 countries with a value for 2024, the highest is South Korea (5.13%) and the lowest Montenegro (0.29%).
- Half of the countries are above 1.59% and half below.
- From 2023 to 2024 the value rose in 6 countries and fell in 1.
- The figure for the European Union was 2.26% in 2024, against 2.21% in 2019 (+0.05 percentage points).
About this measure
Source and dates
All countries in 2024 Every value is for 2024, so the countries are compared at the same point in time.
- 1 South Korea 5.13%
- 2 Sweden 3.53%
- 3 Japan 3.48%
- 4 United States 3.44%de (definition differs (see metadata), estimated)
- 5 Austria 3.34%e (estimated)
- 6 Belgium 3.25%e (estimated)
- 7 Finland 3.22%
- 8 Denmark 3.15%
- 9 Germany 3.12%
- 10 Iceland 2.47%
- 11 Netherlands 2.37%
- 12 France 2.18%
- 13 Slovenia 2.14%
- 14 Estonia 1.98%
- 15 Czechia 1.82%
- 16 Norway 1.75%
- 17 Portugal 1.73%
- 18 Ireland 1.59%
- 19 Greece 1.53%
- 20 Spain 1.50%
- 21 Türkiye 1.46%
- 22 Croatia 1.41%
- 23 Italy 1.41%
- 24 Poland 1.40%
- 25 Hungary 1.31%d (definition differs (see metadata))
- 26 Lithuania 1.12%
- 27 Luxembourg 1.04%
- 28 Slovakia 0.98%
- 29 Latvia 0.94%
- 30 Serbia 0.93%
- 31 Bulgaria 0.77%
- 32 Cyprus 0.64%
- 33 Malta 0.61%
- 34 Romania 0.46%
- 35 Montenegro 0.29%
- European Union 2.26%e (estimated)
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Related measures
- Research and development expenditure (UNESCO)World Bank
- Researchers per million peopleWorld Bank
In this topic
Map
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Grey: no value for 2024. Colour groups split countries into roughly equal numbers. Boundaries: Natural Earth.