Countries Spending the Most on Research and Development
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Key Takeaways
- China spent $785.9 billion in research and development (R&D) in 2024, surpassing the U.S. for the first time ever.
- Global R&D spending reached $2.9 trillion that year, with 45% driven from countries in Asia.
For decades, the U.S. stood as the global leader in research and development (R&D) spending, however, China is increasingly challenging the scientific balance of power.
Backed by rapid growth and strategic investment, China’s share of global R&D has surged from 4.0% in 2000 to 27.4% in 2024. South Korea and India are also increasing their R&D presence, helping push Asia to the forefront of global innovation.
This graphic shows R&D spending by country, based on data from the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The Global Leaders in R&D Spending
Below, we rank countries by their R&D spending (in purchasing power parity-adjusted constant 2015 U.S. dollars):
| Ranking | Country | R&D Spending 2024 |
Global Share | R&D Spending (% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China |
$785.9B | 27.4% | 2.7% |
| 2 |  U.S. |
$781.8B | 27.2% | 3.5% |
| 3 |  Japan |
$186.0B | 6.5% | 3.5% |
| 4 |  Germany |
$132.2B | 4.6% | 3.1% |
| 5 |  South Korea |
$126.4B | 4.4% | 5.3% |
| 6 |  UK |
$86.5B | 3.0% | 2.8% |
| 7 |  India |
$75.7B | 2.6% | 0.7% |
| 8 |  France |
$65.8B | 2.3% | 2.2% |
| 9 |  Türkiye |
$43.2B | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| 10 |  Brazil |
$38.4B | 1.3% | 1.2% |
| 11 |  Russia |
$38.1B | 1.3% | 0.9% |
| 12 |  Canada |
$33.2B | 1.2% | 1.8% |
| 13 |  Italy |
$32.5B | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| 14 |  Spain |
$29.0B | 1.0% | 1.5% |
| 15 |  Israel |
$26.5B | 0.9% | 6.3% |
| 16 |  Australia |
$25.1B | 0.9% | 1.9% |
| 17 |  Netherlands |
$23.0B | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| 18 |  Switzerland |
$20.8B | 0.7% | 3.3% |
| 19 |  Belgium |
$19.9B | 0.7% | 3.3% |
| 20 |  Sweden |
$19.9B | 0.7% | 3.6% |
| 21 |  Egypt |
$16.4B | 0.6% | 1.0% |
| 22 |  Austria |
$15.6B | 0.5% | 3.3% |
| 23 |  Thailand |
$15.1B | 0.5% | 1.2% |
| 24 |  Singapore |
$11.7B | 0.4% | 1.9% |
| 25 |  UAE |
$11.4B | 0.4% | 1.5% |
| 26 |  Denmark |
$10.4B | 0.4% | 3.0% |
| 27 |  Malaysia |
$10.2B | 0.4% | 1.0% |
China ranks first globally, spending $785.9 billion on R&D in 2024.
Much of that investment is shaped by China’s centralized funding model, where a large share of research flows through government labs aligned with national priorities such as energy, biotech, and frontier technologies.
The U.S. ranks second at $781.8 billion. Unlike China, American R&D is driven primarily by the private sector, with Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta among the world’s largest corporate R&D investors.
Together, China and the U.S. R&D investment account for 54.7% of the global total.
Japan ranks a distant third, investing $186.0 billion in 2024. Since 2000, its share of global R&D has fallen by 7.2 percentage points, the second-largest decline after the U.S. Toyota has long led corporate R&D spending in Japan, with Honda also investing heavily.
Europe also places three countries in the global top 10, including Germany (#4), the UK (#6), and France (#8). However, each has seen its share of global R&D shrink since 2000.
Still, there are bright spots. In 2024, EU corporate R&D investment rose 13.0% in healthcare, while energy surged 19.8%, outpacing growth in China, the U.S., and Japan.
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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the Global Innovation Index in 2025.
