Most countries have dramatically increased their investments in R&D over the past two decades, with OECD nation spending reaching a record high nearly $1,600 of gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) per person in 2023 (PPP[1] converted), approximately triple the value recorded in 2000. Although the U.S. has an extremely strong R&D output, relatively smaller economies, like Israel and South Korea, lead when expenditures are standardized for better comparison across nations.

This edition of Useful Stats uses internationally comparable figures from the OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicator (MSTI) database to benchmark R&D performance across OECD nations in both per person PPP-adjusted dollars and as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). Examining the data in this manner provides potential context for understanding the priority countries set for becoming more research-intensive and, perhaps, more innovation-centered in future economic growth.

Refer to the OECD’s website here for notes on the data and metric definitions.

International overview of GERD

In 2023, of the OECD nations with available data, Israel had the largest GERD value on a per person, PPP converted basis at approximately $3,420, followed by the U.S. at $2,850, South Korea at $2,779, Sweden at $2,406, and Austria at $2,320. The OECD-wide value in 2023 was approximately $1,584, with an average growth of 5% year-over-year and a 204% increase since 2000.

The above nations with the largest per-person PPP-converted GERD in 2023 have all been close competitors for the OECD nation with the largest values over the past decade. Sweden had the largest value from 2001 (no data available for 2000) through 2015 before Israel surpassed it the following year. Since, Israel has outpaced its competitors’ growths with an average of 10% per year (compared to Sweden’s 6% and South Korea and the U.S.’ 8%). Note that Israel had a 25% jump from 2021 to 2022, and when excluding this value from the calculation of averages, Israel would match South Korea the U.S.s’ 8% average year-over-year growths.

For comparison, Singapore, globally recognized as a very innovative global financial hub, had a value of $2,620 in 2022 (the most recent available year of data), while other global competitors like Russia ($327 in 2020) and China ($650) fall much shorter.

This data can be seen visually in Figure 1 below, which shows up to five nations at a time in line chart fashion, and in Figure 2. By default, Figure 1 displays the five nations with the largest values in 2023 but can be toggled via the “Enter series to show” box beneath the title to show any OECD nation, as well as China, Singapore, and Russia.

Figure 1: Line charts of GERD per person (PPP converted) and as a percentage of GDP

It is also helpful to look at GERD as a percentage of GDP (also available in Figures 1 and 2 below). Israel continues to lead the OECD nations at 6.35% in 2023, with South Korea following over a full percentage point behind at 4.96%. Another large gap, totaling 1.36%, separates South Korea and the next largest nation, Sweden (3.60%). Following Sweden, however, the gap becomes much smaller; the U.S. ratio of GERD to GDP sits at 3.45%, Japan’s at 3.44%, Belgium’s at 3.32%, and Austria’s at 3.29%.

The OECD-wide value of GERD as a percentage of GDP in 2023 was 2.7%, with an average growth of 1% year-over-year and a 28% increase since 2000. The U.S. maintains approximately the same growth rate despite having a larger ratio.

Of the select non-OECD international competitors included in the report, China’s GERD as a percentage of GDP sits much closer, albeit still nearly a percentage point lower, to the U.S. at 2.58% in 2023. OECD nations, such as Iceland (2.65%), Denmark (2.99%), and Finland (3.09%), sit above China but below the U.S. Russia remains much lower than the U.S., at 1.10% in 2020, while Singapore sits at 1.85% in 2022, the most recent years of data for each.

Figure 2 below showcases the GERD as a share of GDP in a way more suitable for intra-year comparisons, with the U.S. highlighted in black and overall OECD value in red. Note that some nations lack data for certain years and thus do not have a column during affected years.

Figure 2: Column charts of GERD per person (PPP converted) and as a percentage of GDP

This page was prepared by SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.