The United States had the second largest R&D/
GDP
ratio among the
G7
countries, spending about 2.6% of GDP on R&D activities in 2006.
Mouseover legend to highlight data points.
Why is this indicator important?
The ratio of R&D expenditures to GDP is often used to examine R&D as a proportion of a nation's overall economic activity.
This ratio is a useful indicator of the "intensity" of R&D activity in relation to other economic activities and can be used to gauge a nation's commitment to R&D at different points in time.
Key Observations
Rate of growth for Germany increased by 0.33 from 1994 to 2005, while the United States increased by 0.20 during that same period.
Since 2000, Japan continues to lead while China demonstrates the biggest growth.
Related Discussion
The general growth in the U.S. R&D/GDP ratio since 1979 can be attributed to a steady increase in non-Federal R&D spending.
Growth in the R&D/GDP ratio does not necessarily imply increased R&D expenditures. For an extended discussion on the R&D/GDP ratio see
SEI 2008
Chapter 4.
In absolute terms, this indicator can mask significant R&D activity for countries with relatively large economies (e.g., China).