Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023

Source: World Bank

Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023

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Key Findings

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Israel leads in R&D Spending (% of GDP) with 6.35 in 2023.

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Average R&D Spending (% of GDP) in 2023: 3.25 · median: 3.12.

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Gap in 2023: Israel is 3.5× larger than Estonia.

About This Dataset

Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023

Countries ranked by R&D spending (% of GDP) in 2023, using World Bank figures for the 56 countries that reported that year. Israel leads on 6.35, ahead of Liechtenstein (6.01) and South Korea (4.94). Gross domestic spending on research and development as a share of GDP, counting business, government and university research. Countries report in different years and the newest figure is often two or three years old.

Analysis

Israel (6.35), Liechtenstein (6.01) and South Korea (4.94) take the top three. Across the twenty shown, values run from 6.35 down to 1.84, a spread of 4.51. Only 0.34 separates Israel from Liechtenstein in second, 5.4% of the leading figure. 9 of the 20 reach half the leading figure, 3.18 or more. The chart shows the twenty highest of 56 reporting countries, so it describes the top of the distribution rather than the world average.

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin

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Data Points

20 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

6.35

Israel

R&D Spending (% of GDP) · 2023

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Metrics

R&D Spending (% of GDP)

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Period

2023

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: World Bank
Coverage: 20 entities · 2023 · 20 observations
Measure: R&D Spending (% of GDP)
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2023.

Rankings & Full Data

20 records · R&D Spending (% of GDP) · ranked by 2023

✓ 20 sourced

#	Category	2023
🥇	Israel	6.35
🥈	Liechtenstein	6.01
🥉	South Korea	4.94
4	Sweden	3.60
5	United States	3.45
6	Japan	3.44
7	Belgium	3.27
8	Austria	3.26
9	Switzerland	3.22
10	Germany	3.15
11	Finland	3.09
12	Denmark	3.05
13	United Kingdom	2.68
14	Iceland	2.64
15	China	2.58
16	Netherlands	2.27
17	France	2.18
18	Slovenia	2.13
19	Norway	1.85
20	Estonia	1.84

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

1 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS Visit ↗

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APA

ANYSTAT. (2026). Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023 [Data set]. Data: World Bank. https://anystat.ai/stats/1460/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-development-2023-1788721162

MLA

"Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023." ANYSTAT, 6 Sep. 2026, https://anystat.ai/stats/1460/countries-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-development-2023-1788721162.

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Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development 2023