Australia vs France: Research & development spending as a share of GDP

Australia

1.9%

in 2021

France

2.2%

in 2023

Australia rank

18th

France rank

16th

Research & development spending as a share of GDP over time

France currently reports 2.2% against 1.9% in Australia, a difference of 0.3%.

That makes France's figure about 1.2 times Australia's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 14 shared years of data; in 1996 it was France ahead.

Australia ranks 18th and France ranks 16th of 116 countries.

Indicator: Research & development spending as a share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 116 places, 2,375 data points, 1996–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development.