List of sovereign states by research and development spending
This is a list of countries by research and development 'spending' in real terms, based on data published by the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Definition
According to the World Bank: “Gross domestic expenditures on research and development include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research and experimental development.”According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe: “Research and development expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product is defined as the total intramural expenditure on research and experimental development performed in the national territory during a specific reference period expressed as a percentage of national gross domestic product.”
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: “Gross domestic spending on R&D is defined as the total expenditure on R&D carried out by all resident companies, research institutes, universities and government laboratories, etc., in a country. It includes R&D funded from abroad, but excludes domestic funds for R&D performed outside the domestic economy.”