2018 Digest

Global R&D expenditures are concentrated in three regions: East/Southeast and South Asia, North America, and Europe.

The eight countries with the largest R&D expenditures—the United States, China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, France, India, and the United Kingdom—together accounted for nearly three-fourths of total global R&D in 2015. The United States remains the largest R&D performer and accounted for 26% of the worldwide R&D total in 2015. China is now the second largest R&D performing nation, accounting for 21% of the worldwide total.

Asian countries have heavily contributed to the overall increase in worldwide R&D expenditures, with China accounting for nearly one-third of the total global growth between 2000 and 2015. The United States and the European Union (EU) together accounted for approximately another one-third (36%) of the global growth during this period.

Asian countries have led the pace of R&D expansion as well. Between 2000 and 2015, China’s R&D expanded the most rapidly, followed by India and South Korea. By comparison, the pace of growth has been much more moderate in the United States and the EU.

R&D intensity is the proportion of a country’s economic activity (gross domestic product) devoted to R&D investment. China’s R&D intensity has increased sharply over time, as growth in R&D outpaced a rapid expansion in GDP. China’s R&D intensity has exceeded that of the EU, but it remains well below that of South Korea—which has also sharply increased its R&D intensity over time—and that of the United States.