# R&D spending by nation — world ranking

R&D spending ranked across 144 nations, highest to lowest. Liechtenstein highest at 6.0% (2023). Each figure carries its publisher and observation year.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/rankings/research-spending
Updated: 2026-06-15 (the technology domain's last refresh)

Definition: Gross expenditure on research & development as a share of GDP.
Unit: % of GDP. Ordered highest to lowest — a ranking of figures, not a grading of nations. Ties share a rank.

Note: this table mixes vintages — each publisher carries a nation's latest available year, so observations run from 2002 to 2024. Every row shows its own.

## Ranking (144 nations)

| Rank | Nation | Value | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liechtenstein | 6.0% | 2023 |
| 2 | South Korea | 4.9% | 2023 |
| 3 | Sweden | 3.6% | 2023 |
| 4 | United States | 3.4% | 2023 |
| 5 | Japan | 3.4% | 2023 |
| 6 | Belgium | 3.3% | 2023 |
| 7 | Austria | 3.3% | 2023 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 3.2% | 2023 |
| 9 | Germany | 3.2% | 2023 |
| 10 | Finland | 3.1% | 2023 |
| 11 | Denmark | 3.0% | 2023 |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 2.7% | 2023 |
| 13 | Iceland | 2.6% | 2023 |
| 14 | China | 2.6% | 2023 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 2.3% | 2023 |
| 16 | France | 2.2% | 2023 |
| 17 | Slovenia | 2.1% | 2023 |
| 18 | Australia | 1.9% | 2021 |
| 19 | Norway | 1.9% | 2023 |
| 20 | Estonia | 1.8% | 2023 |
| 21 | Czechia | 1.8% | 2023 |
| 22 | Canada | 1.8% | 2024 |
| 23 | Portugal | 1.7% | 2023 |
| 24 | Ireland | 1.6% | 2023 |
| 25 | Poland | 1.6% | 2023 |
| 26 | New Zealand | 1.5% | 2023 |
| 27 | United Arab Emirates | 1.5% | 2021 |
| 28 | Greece | 1.5% | 2023 |
| 29 | Spain | 1.5% | 2023 |
| 30 | Türkiye | 1.4% | 2023 |
| 31 | Croatia | 1.4% | 2023 |
| 32 | Italy | 1.4% | 2023 |
| 33 | Hungary | 1.4% | 2023 |
| 34 | Brazil | 1.2% | 2023 |
| 35 | Luxembourg | 1.1% | 2023 |
| 36 | Lithuania | 1.0% | 2023 |
| 37 | Slovakia | 1.0% | 2023 |
| 38 | Egypt | 1.0% | 2024 |
| 39 | Malaysia | 1.0% | 2022 |
| 40 | Serbia | 0.9% | 2024 |
| 41 | Russia | 0.9% | 2024 |
| 42 | Thailand | 0.9% | 2023 |
| 43 | Latvia | 0.8% | 2023 |
| 44 | Kenya | 0.8% | 2024 |
| 45 | Bulgaria | 0.8% | 2023 |
| 46 | Rwanda | 0.8% | 2023 |
| 47 | Tunisia | 0.7% | 2019 |
| 48 | Iran | 0.7% | 2021 |
| 49 | Uruguay | 0.7% | 2023 |
| 50 | Jordan | 0.7% | 2016 |
| 51 | Cyprus | 0.7% | 2023 |
| 52 | Qatar | 0.7% | 2021 |
| 53 | Morocco | 0.7% | 2010 |
| 54 | Malta | 0.6% | 2023 |
| 55 | Namibia | 0.6% | 2022 |
| 56 | Greenland | 0.6% | 2004 |
| 57 | India | 0.6% | 2020 |
| 58 | Saudi Arabia | 0.6% | 2024 |
| 59 | South Africa | 0.6% | 2022 |
| 60 | Argentina | 0.6% | 2023 |
| 61 | Belarus | 0.6% | 2024 |
| 62 | Gabon | 0.6% | 2009 |
| 63 | Senegal | 0.6% | 2015 |
| 64 | Botswana | 0.6% | 2013 |
| 65 | Romania | 0.5% | 2023 |
| 66 | Tanzania | 0.5% | 2013 |
| 67 | Palestine | 0.5% | 2013 |
| 68 | Algeria | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 69 | Cuba | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 69 | Ecuador | 0.4% | 2014 |
| 71 | Uganda | 0.4% | 2023 |
| 72 | Puerto Rico | 0.4% | 2015 |
| 73 | Vietnam | 0.4% | 2023 |
| 74 | DR Congo | 0.4% | 2015 |
| 75 | Chile | 0.4% | 2022 |
| 76 | Oman | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 77 | Congo | 0.4% | 2022 |
| 78 | Ghana | 0.4% | 2010 |
| 79 | North Macedonia | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 80 | Ukraine | 0.4% | 2024 |
| 81 | Montenegro | 0.4% | 2019 |
| 82 | Costa Rica | 0.3% | 2023 |
| 83 | Venezuela | 0.3% | 2014 |
| 84 | Mozambique | 0.3% | 2015 |
| 85 | Nepal | 0.3% | 2010 |
| 86 | Colombia | 0.3% | 2020 |
| 87 | Armenia | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 88 | Nigeria | 0.3% | 2019 |
| 89 | Indonesia | 0.3% | 2020 |
| 90 | Zambia | 0.3% | 2008 |
| 91 | Eswatini | 0.3% | 2015 |
| 92 | Brunei | 0.3% | 2018 |
| 93 | Philippines | 0.3% | 2020 |
| 94 | Ethiopia | 0.3% | 2017 |
| 95 | Georgia | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 96 | Mauritius | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 97 | Mexico | 0.3% | 2024 |
| 98 | Chad | 0.2% | 2016 |
| 99 | Sudan | 0.2% | 2005 |
| 100 | Togo | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 101 | Moldova | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 102 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 103 | Burundi | 0.2% | 2018 |
| 104 | Azerbaijan | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 105 | Seychelles | 0.2% | 2016 |
| 106 | Albania | 0.2% | 2022 |
| 107 | Panama | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 108 | Malawi | 0.2% | 2019 |
| 109 | Peru | 0.2% | 2023 |
| 110 | Pakistan | 0.2% | 2023 |
| 111 | Kazakhstan | 0.2% | 2024 |
| 112 | Andorra | 0.2% | 2022 |
| 113 | Mali | 0.1% | 2023 |
| 114 | Paraguay | 0.1% | 2023 |
| 115 | Nicaragua | 0.1% | 2015 |
| 116 | Sri Lanka | 0.1% | 2022 |
| 117 | Burkina Faso | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 118 | Uzbekistan | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 119 | El Salvador | 0.1% | 2023 |
| 120 | Bhutan | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 121 | Lesotho | 0.1% | 2023 |
| 122 | Turkmenistan | 0.1% | 2023 |
| 123 | Tajikistan | 0.1% | 2020 |
| 124 | Kuwait | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 125 | Cambodia | 0.1% | 2015 |
| 126 | Mongolia | 0.1% | 2022 |
| 127 | Ivory Coast | 0.1% | 2016 |
| 128 | Gambia | 0.1% | 2018 |
| 129 | Cape Verde | 0.1% | 2011 |
| 130 | Bolivia | 0.1% | 2021 |
| 131 | Jamaica | 0.1% | 2002 |
| 132 | Honduras | 0.1% | 2019 |
| 133 | Kyrgyzstan | 0.1% | 2024 |
| 134 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.1% | 2022 |
| 135 | Syria | 0.0% | 2022 |
| 136 | Iraq | 0.0% | 2021 |
| 137 | Monaco | 0.0% | 2005 |
| 138 | Laos | 0.0% | 2002 |
| 139 | Angola | 0.0% | 2016 |
| 140 | Papua New Guinea | 0.0% | 2016 |
| 141 | Myanmar | 0.0% | 2023 |
| 142 | Madagascar | 0.0% | 2017 |
| 143 | Mauritania | 0.0% | 2018 |
| 144 | Guatemala | 0.0% | 2023 |

## No data (42 nations)

These nations publish no figure for this indicator in the sources below. Absence is a fact about the world's statistical apparatus, not a zero — they are not ranked.

- Afghanistan
- Antarctica — Antarctica has no permanent population and no national government — it is administered under the Antarctic Treaty. No statistical agency compiles national indicators for it, so there is nothing here to report.
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Belize
- Benin
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Falkland Islands — The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, administered by the United Kingdom; sovereignty is disputed by Argentina. They are not a separate reporting entity in World Bank datasets.
- Fiji
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands — The French Southern and Antarctic Lands have no permanent civilian population. They are administered from Réunion as an overseas territory of France and are not a separate reporting entity in international datasets.
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Kosovo
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- New Caledonia
- Niger
- North Korea
- Northern Cyprus — Northern Cyprus is recognised as a state by Türkiye alone. It is not a member of the United Nations or the World Bank, and does not appear as a separate entity in the datasets these indicators are drawn from.
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Somaliland — Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and has not been recognised by the United Nations or any member state. Where its figures are collected at all, they are reported within Somalia's.
- South Sudan
- Suriname
- Taiwan — Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, and is excluded from the World Bank and UN series that supply most of this dossier. Its own statistical agencies publish extensively.
- Timor-Leste
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City — Vatican City has a resident population of a few hundred and does not compile the economic and social series these indicators are drawn from.
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe

## Sources

- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org

Citation template: Terralore, "R&D spending by nation — world ranking", terralore.co/rankings/research-spending, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.