Chinese spending on R&D went from 4 per cent of the global total in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2023. Photos: stock
China is driving an upsurge in global spending on research and development (R&D) as the world total nearly tripled to US$2.75 trillion in 2023.
The UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) recently released its Global Innovation Index (GII) which identified trends in global R&D since 2000.
The index points out that despite three major economic crises, a pandemic and geopolitical tensions, global R&D spending rose from about $1 trillion in 2000 to more than $2.75 trillion in 2023.
The US remains the biggest spender on R&D in 2023 with $783.60 billion, followed by China with $723 billion, the EU (as a bloc) at $410 billion, Japan fourth at $184bn and Germany fifth at ($132bn).
However, China’s spending on R&D increased 18-fold in 23 years; from 4 per cent of global spending in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2023.
The index identified several trends using WIPO estimates and data sourced from other UN and global bodies.
These are:
- A far more intensive R&D global economy is emerging. Since 2000, the global share of R&D in total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose from under 1.5 per cent to nearly 2 per cent by 2023. With a global GDP of around $200 trillion in 2023, an 0.5 per cent increase in the share of GDP means an extra $1 trillion is spent on R&D.
- Countries in Asia-Oceania (including Australia) accounted for about 46 per cent of global spending in 2023 compared to 25 per cent in 2000. Northern America (US/Canada) were at 29 per cent in 2023 compared to 38 per cent in 2000; Europe is at 21 per cent and Central-Southern Asia is at 3 per cent (including India). Latin America and the Caribbean’s share fell from 3 per cent to 2 per cent from 2000 to 2023; Brazil’s share fell from 2 per cent to 1.3 per cent in that timeframe.
Northern Africa and Western Asia spending rose from 2 per cent in 2000 to almost 4 per cent in 2023. Egypt’s share of global R&D spend rose from 0.1 per cent in 2000 to 0.6 per cent in 2023 including a surge in spending from 2007 to more than $15 billion.- At the country level (excluding China), those with the biggest increases in R&D spending over 23 years are: South Korea, Türkiye, India, Egypt, Thailand, Poland, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The countries with the largest fall in spendings are the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Russian Federation, Brazil, Sweden, and Netherlands.
- The index’s list of top 15 R&D-spending economies shows a significant shift from wealthier economies to middle-income countries like China, India, Türkiye, Brazil, Russia, the EU and Egypt.
- Among wealthier countries, the likes of Saudi Arabia, Estonia, South Korea and Poland led in R&D spending growth. Some of the lowest spenders are Canada, Norway, Japan, France and Finland.
- Israel and South Korea lead the way in intensive R&D economies in spending 6 and over 5 per cent of their GDP respectively on research. Nine countries exceed the 3 percent R&D-to-GDP threshold such as the US, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Finland. Among middle-income economies, China is the only country to surpass the 2 per cent threshold. The R&D-GDP spending threshold remains below 1 per cent in 66 per cent of economies; almost 50 per cent of them under 0.5 per cent.
- In some countries, the private sector overwhelmingly drives R&D. In Israel, the private sector accounts for 92 per cent of spending followed by Vietnam (90 per cent), Ireland (80 per cent), Japan and South Korea (both at 79 per cent). In countries like the US, China, some European nations, Thailand, Singapore, Türkiye, Canada, Australia and United Arab Emirates, the private sector drives more than half of total R&D spending.
