10 Countries That Spend the Most on Research and Development

Countries that spend the most on research and development should give you an idea which countries are trying the most to improve themselves by gaining knowledge and using it in practice.

When we talk about research and development, it is crucial to know to identify the meaning of terms research and development. There are two basic types of research. The first one is basic research, and it refers to gaining knowledge of unknown processes or facts, but without the previous intention of using that knowledge for something. The other type is applied research, and it is also aimed towards gaining new knowledge, but for already known and determined goal. The term development is defined as the use of previously acquired knowledge in practice by producing or improving something.

Amounts of money used for research and development are very high. According to the estimation from 2010, one trillion dollars was spent on research and development. No, you didn’t read it wrong, one trillion dollars. Let it sink in. If you are a fan of smaller figures, check out 10 countries that spend the most on advertising.

Of course, the highest amounts of money are spent by most developed and rich countries of the world. Countries like that are constantly seeking to improve, and investing in research and development is one of the best ways to do it.

To determine the amount of money each country spends on research and development, we checked out the percent of GDP each country invested in research and development in 2014. If there was no data for 2014, we used the data for 2013. To get more accurate data, we used the PPP (purchasing power parity) adjusted country’s GDP and calculated the percentage, getting the closest possible amount of money they spent. To be sure we also checked some other sources, and the ranking doesn’t change since they all have similar data.

10. Brazil

In 2012, Brazil spent $37.5 billion on research and development, or 1.15% of their GDP. The figure is close to the one in 2012 when Brazil spent 1.15% of their GDP.

9. The United Kingdom

Around $41 billion spent by the United Kingdom in 2013 is the same the UK spent in 2012. It makes 1.63% of their GDP.

8. Russia

42.3 billions of dollars spent by Russia may seem much, but when you consider that this figure is just 1.13% of Russia’s GDP, you realize this country isn’t trying as hard as the others. From 10 countries that spend the most on research and development, Russia has the second lowest percent of GDP invested in research and development.

7. France

France kept its investment the same in 2012 and 2013, spending 2.23% of its GDP on research and development. That is a figure of $57.3 billion.

6. India

Second most populated country invests only 0.83% of its GDP in research and development, but even that is enough to place it on our list, taking consideration that India has the third largest GDP in the World. The expenditure of GDP on research and development stands at $61 billion.

5. South Korea

South Korea is the country that spends the most of its GDP on research and development after the Israel, with the figure standing at 4.15% in 2013, which is around $74 billion in total. In 2013, South Korea had a major increase of 0.12 % in investments, when compared to 2012.

4. Germany

Germany always invested greatly in Research and Development, but there is a downfall of 0.3 %, compared to the last year. In 2013, Germany invested $105 billion, or 2.85% of its GDP.

3. Japan

When it comes to the percent of GDP spent on research and development, Japan is in the third place with 3.47% or $160.6 billion. Japan had a significant raise of the investment by 0.13% comparing to 2012.

2. China

China has been significantly increasing its investment over the years. In 2013, the country spent around $361 billion or 2.01% of its GDP.

1. The USA

The USA ordinarily tops countries that spend the most on research and development year after year. In 2013, they invested a whopping amount of $487.4 billion or 2.81% of their GDP. This again proves that the USA is surely most developed country in the world, and no one seems capable of jeopardizing country’s leading position anytime soon.