Global Research and Development
Expenditures: Fact Sheet
Updated September 27, 2021
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R44283
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Global Research and Development Expenditures: Fact Sheet
esearch and development (R&D) plays a central role in advanced economies in areas such
as economic growth and job creation, industrial competitiveness, national security, energy,
R agriculture, transportation, public health and wel-being, environmental protection, and
expanding the frontiers of human knowledge understanding.1 Accordingly, companies,
governments, universities, nonprofit organizations, and others around the world have made
substantial investments in R&D. Since 2000, total global R&D expenditures have more than
tripled in current dollars, from $677 bil ion to $2.2 tril ion in 2019.
The United States emerged as a global leader in science and technology in the second half of the
20th century. During this period, U.S. public and private investments in R&D grew rapidly and
helped to propel the United States to a position of global economic leadership. By 1960, the
United States accounted for approximately 69% of the world’s R&D funding. By 2019, however,
the U.S. share of global R&D expenditures2 had fal en to about 30%.3 (See Figure 1.) The U.S.
decline in share of global R&D is not the result of a reduction in U.S. R&D investments—in fact,
U.S. public and private R&D grew robustly during this period—but rather is the result of even
greater increases in the investments of the governments and industries of other countries, which
have recognized the importance of R&D to their industrial innovation and competitiveness.
Figure 1. U.S. Share of Global R&D
Sources: 1960: CRS analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technology Policy, The Global Context
for U.S. Technology Policy, Summer 1997. 2019: CRS analysis of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) data, Main Science and Technology Indicators, OECD.Stat.
Notes: Rest of the World includes the members of the OECD (less the United States), as wel as Argentina,
China, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan. R&D expenditures by some others countries are
not included but are likely to be smal in relative terms. In estimating total global R&D, CRS used the most
1 Alternatively, some nations have taken non-R&D intensive paths to economic growth, for example by serving as low
labor-cost locations for the manufacturing and service needs of other nations, by licensing or acquiring the intellectual
property needed for production activities, and by extracting and refining natural resources (e.g., oil, gas, minerals).
2 For purposes of this report, global R&D expenditures include those of the OECD countries, as well as Argentina,
China, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and T aiwan. R&D expenditures by some others countries are not
included but are likely to be small in relative terms.
3 2019 is the latest year for which OECD R&D data is largely complete. It generally takes a year or two for national
R&D data to be collected and reported, then harmonized and published by the OECD.
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recent year’s reported R&D expenditures for two countries (Argentina and South Africa) that had not reported
data for 2019.
In 2019 (the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available), global R&D
expenditures were $2.200 tril ion.4 The United States continued to fund more R&D than any other
country. China, ranked second in 2019, funded more R&D than the next four highest countries—
Japan, Germany, South Korea, and France—combined. The 10 largest R&D-funding countries of
2019 accounted for $1.863 tril ion in R&D expenditures, about 84.7% of the global total; the top
20 R&D-funding countries accounted for $2.078 tril ion, 94.5% of the global total. (See Table 1.)
Table 1. Countries with the Highest Expenditure on R&D, 2019
(in bil ions of current PPP dol ars)
Rank
Country
Amount
Rank
Country
Amount
1
United States
$657.5
11
Canada
29.3
2
China
525.7
12
Spain
24.9
3
Japan
173.3
13
Turkey
24.2
4
Germany
147.5
14
Australia
22.4
5
South Korea
102.5
15
Netherlands
22.3
6
France
72.8
16
Sweden
19.3
7
United Kingdom
56.9
17
Israel
18.7
8
Russia
44.5
18
Switzerland
18.6
9
Taiwan
44.0
19
Belgium
18.2
10
Italy
38.8
20
Poland
17.2
Source: CRS analysis of Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD.Stat database,
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB.
Notes: PPP = Purchasing Power Parity. PPP is used to determine the relative value of different currencies and to
adjust data from different countries to a common currency al owing direct comparisons among them. Australia
and Switzerland based on 2017 data.
Figure 2 il ustrates R&D expenditures between 2000 and 2019 for the 10 countries with the
highest R&D expenditures.
4 Includes OECD members, plus Argentina, China, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and T aiwan.
(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD.Stat database)
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Global Research and Development Expenditures: Fact Sheet
Figure 2. R&D Expenditures of Selected Countries, 2000-2019
(in bil ions of current PPP dol ars)
Source: CRS analysis of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD.Stat database,
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB.
Notes: PPP = Purchasing Power Parity. PPP is used to determine the relative value of different currencies and to
adjust data from different countries to a common currency al owing direct comparisons among them.
Trends in global R&D share between 2000 and 2019 for the 10 countries with the highest 2019
R&D expenditures are il ustrated in Figure 3. Among them, six saw declines in share of global
R&D—the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy—while four
saw their shares grow—China, South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan.
In 2000, China accounted for nearly 5% of global R&D, joining the United States, Japan, South
Korea, and the countries of Western Europe as the largest funders of R&D. In 2009, China
surpassed Japan to become the second largest funder of R&D. From 2000 to 2019, while China’s
share of global R&D rose from 4.9% to 23.9%, the U.S. share fel from 39.8% to 29.9% and
Japan’s share fel from 14.6% to 7.9%.
Figure 3. Share of Global R&D of Selected Countries, 2000-2019
Source: CRS analysis of Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, OECD.Stat database,
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB.
Notes: Global R&D includes the expenditures of the OECD countries, Argentina, China, Romania, Russia,
Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan. Share computed in PPP terms. PPP = Purchasing Power Parity. PPP is used
to determine the relative value of different currencies and to adjust data from different countries to a common
currency al owing direct comparisons among them.
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Global Research and Development Expenditures: Fact Sheet
Figure 4 il ustrates the growth of R&D expenditures for each of the 10 countries with the highest
2019 R&D expenditures for 2000 to 2019 as a percentage of its 2000 R&D expenditures.
Figure 4. Growth in R&D Expenditures Since 2000 for Selected Countries, 2000-2019
Source: CRS analysis of Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation,
OECD.Stat database, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MSTI_PUB.
Author Information
John F. Sargent Jr.
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
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Congressional Research Service
R44283 · VERSION 14 · UPDATED
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