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General Science and Engineering Indicators
R&D Investment Patterns
R&D Investment by Selected Country
Academic R&D Investment by Selected Country and S&E Field
U.S. R&D Investment by Selected Source of Support
U.S. R&D Investment by Selected Performing Sector
U.S. R&D Investment by Federal Budget Function
U.S. Federal Research Investment by Selected Agency and S&E Field
S&E Workforce Development
Knowledge Output

Selected Education Indicators
High School Completion Patterns
High School Teachers
Higher Education Enrollments

Selected Global Marketplace Indicators
Competitiveness

Glossary
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The United States allocates a larger share of its higher education R&D investment to the natural sciences than most other Organization for Economic and Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.


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Why is this indicator important?

  • Academic R&D investment is a leading indicator of national capacity across the S&E fields, signifying not only the conduct of R&D across fields but also the support of graduate students who will comprise the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Key Observations

  • Not all countries are equally engaged in all fields of science and engineering; nations differ in their choices for academic R&D investments.
  • Compared to other major industrialized nations, the United States allocates a larger share of its higher education R&D expenditures to the natural sciences and a smaller share to engineering and to social sciences.

Related Discussion

  • Countries differ in how data for the humanities and social sciences is defined, collected and reported.
  • Note that these data are sporadic and, for some countries, quite old.