* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Research and development expenditure, percent of GDP, 2021:

The average for 2021 based on 6 countries was 0.65 percent. The highest value was in the United Arab Emirates: 1.5 percent and the lowest value was in Iraq: 0.04 percent. The indicator is available from 1996 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: percent; Source: The United Nations
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Research and development expenditure, 2021 Global rank Available data
UA Emirates 1.5 1 2011 - 2021
Egypt 0.91 2 1996 - 2022
Qatar 0.68 3 2012 - 2021
Saudi Arabia 0.45 4 2003 - 2022
Oman 0.29 5 2011 - 2022
Iraq 0.04 6 2007 - 2021



Definition: Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They 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.

Selected articles from our guide:

The unholy trinity of international finance

Most commonly used measures of corruption

All articles

This site uses cookies.
Learn more here


OK