# Researchers (per million) by nation — world ranking Researchers (per million) ranked across 137 nations, highest to lowest. Liechtenstein highest at 18,130 (2023). Each figure carries its publisher and… Canonical: https://terralore.co/rankings/researchers Updated: 2026-06-15 (the technology domain's last refresh) Definition: Full-time-equivalent researchers per million people. Unit: per million. 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 (137 nations) | Rank | Nation | Value | Observed | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Liechtenstein | 18,130 | 2023 | | 2 | South Korea | 9,472 | 2023 | | 3 | Sweden | 8,911 | 2023 | | 4 | Denmark | 8,838 | 2023 | | 5 | Finland | 8,315 | 2023 | | 6 | Norway | 7,451 | 2023 | | 7 | Austria | 6,634 | 2023 | | 8 | Netherlands | 6,563 | 2023 | | 9 | Switzerland | 6,108 | 2023 | | 10 | Belgium | 5,990 | 2023 | | 11 | Portugal | 5,983 | 2023 | | 12 | Iceland | 5,953 | 2023 | | 13 | Germany | 5,926 | 2023 | | 14 | Ireland | 5,753 | 2023 | | 15 | Canada | 5,624 | 2022 | | 16 | Slovenia | 5,616 | 2023 | | 17 | Japan | 5,609 | 2023 | | 18 | New Zealand | 5,435 | 2023 | | 19 | France | 5,369 | 2023 | | 20 | Luxembourg | 5,359 | 2023 | | 21 | Greece | 5,283 | 2023 | | 22 | United States | 4,937 | 2022 | | 23 | Estonia | 4,800 | 2023 | | 24 | Australia | 4,569 | 2010 | | 25 | Hungary | 4,567 | 2023 | | 26 | Czechia | 4,505 | 2023 | | 27 | United Kingdom | 4,473 | 2017 | | 28 | Lithuania | 3,704 | 2023 | | 29 | Poland | 3,675 | 2023 | | 30 | Spain | 3,654 | 2023 | | 31 | Slovakia | 3,507 | 2023 | | 32 | Italy | 2,855 | 2023 | | 33 | Serbia | 2,688 | 2024 | | 34 | Türkiye | 2,645 | 2023 | | 35 | Russia | 2,639 | 2024 | | 36 | United Arab Emirates | 2,607 | 2021 | | 37 | Croatia | 2,440 | 2023 | | 38 | Bulgaria | 2,401 | 2023 | | 39 | Malta | 2,355 | 2023 | | 40 | Iran | 2,240 | 2021 | | 41 | Latvia | 2,191 | 2023 | | 42 | Cuba | 2,171 | 2024 | | 43 | China | 2,107 | 2023 | | 44 | Georgia | 1,896 | 2024 | | 45 | Algeria | 1,764 | 2024 | | 46 | Cyprus | 1,686 | 2023 | | 47 | Tunisia | 1,668 | 2024 | | 48 | Azerbaijan | 1,663 | 2024 | | 49 | Thailand | 1,592 | 2023 | | 50 | Belarus | 1,568 | 2024 | | 51 | Argentina | 1,313 | 2023 | | 52 | Saudi Arabia | 1,235 | 2024 | | 53 | Malaysia | 1,218 | 2022 | | 54 | Egypt | 1,120 | 2024 | | 55 | Morocco | 1,083 | 2016 | | 56 | Romania | 1,082 | 2023 | | 57 | Qatar | 948 | 2021 | | 58 | Armenia | 942 | 2024 | | 59 | Uruguay | 938 | 2024 | | 60 | Brazil | 903 | 2014 | | 61 | North Macedonia | 888 | 2024 | | 62 | Vietnam | 836 | 2023 | | 63 | Montenegro | 764 | 2019 | | 64 | Kazakhstan | 758 | 2024 | | 65 | Oman | 739 | 2024 | | 66 | Chile | 707 | 2022 | | 67 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 705 | 2024 | | 68 | Greenland | 702 | 2004 | | 69 | Mauritius | 689 | 2024 | | 70 | Moldova | 650 | 2024 | | 71 | Uzbekistan | 640 | 2024 | | 72 | Ukraine | 586 | 2022 | | 73 | Palestine | 584 | 2013 | | 74 | Jordan | 576 | 2017 | | 75 | Senegal | 572 | 2015 | | 76 | Mongolia | 535 | 2022 | | 77 | Costa Rica | 508 | 2023 | | 78 | Brunei | 506 | 2022 | | 79 | Trinidad and Tobago | 493 | 2022 | | 80 | Pakistan | 474 | 2023 | | 81 | South Africa | 444 | 2022 | | 82 | Mexico | 438 | 2024 | | 83 | Albania | 429 | 2022 | | 84 | Ecuador | 400 | 2014 | | 85 | Indonesia | 395 | 2020 | | 86 | Kenya | 384 | 2024 | | 87 | Puerto Rico | 332 | 2015 | | 88 | Philippines | 320 | 2020 | | 89 | Monaco | 310 | 2005 | | 90 | India | 259 | 2020 | | 91 | Panama | 250 | 2024 | | 92 | Bhutan | 236 | 2024 | | 93 | Namibia | 225 | 2022 | | 94 | Honduras | 188 | 2019 | | 95 | Venezuela | 180 | 2023 | | 96 | Botswana | 180 | 2013 | | 97 | Iraq | 164 | 2021 | | 98 | Seychelles | 147 | 2005 | | 99 | Kuwait | 145 | 2024 | | 100 | Syria | 140 | 2022 | | 101 | Paraguay | 139 | 2023 | | 102 | Eswatini | 138 | 2015 | | 103 | Rwanda | 133 | 2023 | | 104 | Congo | 127 | 2022 | | 105 | Cape Verde | 125 | 2014 | | 106 | Zimbabwe | 95 | 2012 | | 107 | Sri Lanka | 94 | 2022 | | 108 | Colombia | 90 | 2017 | | 109 | Ethiopia | 89 | 2017 | | 110 | Ghana | 87 | 2015 | | 111 | Uganda | 81 | 2023 | | 112 | Ivory Coast | 64 | 2005 | | 113 | Bolivia | 63 | 2021 | | 114 | Nepal | 60 | 2002 | | 115 | Togo | 58 | 2024 | | 116 | Chad | 57 | 2016 | | 117 | El Salvador | 55 | 2023 | | 118 | Gambia | 51 | 2018 | | 119 | Burkina Faso | 47 | 2010 | | 120 | Mozambique | 44 | 2015 | | 121 | Zambia | 42 | 2008 | | 122 | Papua New Guinea | 33 | 2016 | | 123 | Madagascar | 33 | 2018 | | 124 | Lesotho | 32 | 2023 | | 125 | Cambodia | 30 | 2015 | | 126 | Myanmar | 28 | 2023 | | 127 | Niger | 27 | 2013 | | 128 | Mali | 26 | 2023 | | 129 | Malawi | 25 | 2019 | | 130 | Burundi | 22 | 2018 | | 131 | Nigeria | 22 | 2019 | | 132 | Dominican Republic | 20 | 2022 | | 133 | Tanzania | 19 | 2013 | | 134 | Angola | 19 | 2016 | | 135 | Laos | 16 | 2002 | | 136 | DR Congo | 10 | 2015 | | 137 | Guatemala | 1 | 2023 | ## No data (49 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 - Andorra - 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 - 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. - Gabon - Guinea - Guinea-Bissau - Guyana - Haiti - Jamaica - Kosovo - Kyrgyzstan - Lebanon - Liberia - Libya - Mauritania - New Caledonia - Nicaragua - 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. - Peru - 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 - 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. - Tajikistan - Timor-Leste - Turkmenistan - 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 ## 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, "Researchers (per million) by nation — world ranking", terralore.co/rankings/researchers, retrieved .