R&D personnel by sector of performance - Regions — Researchers by country
This table contains research and development (R&D) personnel statistics in large (TL2) regions. Indicators covered Number of R&D personnel is provided in both headcounts and full-time equivalent on R&D by sex, sector of performance (business enterprise, government, higher education, and private non-profit)....
What the numbers show
R&D personnel by sector of performance - Regions — Researchers is currently reported for 37 countries. The highest value is 1.47 million Persons in United States of America; the lowest is 158 Persons in Montenegro.
The median across all reporting countries is 31,543 Persons, and the mean is 113,511 Persons.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9,283.
Over the past decade 36 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Poland (up 351.0%), and the largest decrease in Russian Federation (down 8.1%).
R&D personnel by sector of performance - Regions — Researchers: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 1.47 million Persons | 2022 | up 46.1% | rising |
| 2 | Japan | 599,860 Persons | 2023 | up 12.9% | rising |
| 3 | Germany | 359,321 Persons | 2023 | up 62.3% | rising |
| 4 | France | 300,285 Persons | 2023 | up 36.3% | rising |
| 4 | Türkiye | 158,816 Persons | 2023 | up 248.2% | volatile |
| 5 | Russian Federation | 185,358 Persons | 2019 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 6 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 165,975 Persons | 2018 | up 88.8% | rising |
| 7 | Netherlands | 115,760 Persons | 2023 | up 37.7% | volatile |
| 8 | Poland | 111,753 Persons | 2023 | up 351.0% | volatile |
| 9 | Italy | 92,980 Persons | 2023 | up 76.4% | rising |
| 10 | Sweden | 91,444 Persons | 2023 | up 86.8% | rising |
| 11 | Spain | 90,723 Persons | 2023 | up 52.8% | rising |
| 12 | Belgium | 70,218 Persons | 2023 | up 131.2% | volatile |
| 13 | Portugal | 51,877 Persons | 2023 | up 151.6% | volatile |
| 14 | Austria | 49,922 Persons | 2023 | up 48.4% | rising |
| 15 | Denmark | 36,787 Persons | 2023 | up 30.2% | rising |
| 16 | Finland | 34,795 Persons | 2023 | up 24.4% | rising |
| 17 | Norway | 32,119 Persons | 2023 | up 70.3% | rising |
| 18 | Hungary | 31,543 Persons | 2023 | up 97.0% | volatile |
| 19 | Czechia | 31,379 Persons | 2024 | up 46.1% | rising |
| 20 | Switzerland | 30,268 Persons | 2023 | up 69.1% | rising |
| 21 | Greece | 25,205 Persons | 2023 | up 319.8% | volatile |
| 22 | Ireland | 20,334 Persons | 2023 | up 47.9% | rising |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 9,382 Persons | 2023 | up 194.5% | volatile |
| 24 | Slovenia | 8,843 Persons | 2023 | up 57.4% | volatile |
| 25 | Romania | 7,354 Persons | 2023 | up 28.2% | volatile |
| 26 | Lithuania | 4,491 Persons | 2023 | up 83.2% | volatile |
| 27 | Estonia | 3,660 Persons | 2023 | up 96.1% | rising |
| 28 | Croatia | 3,080 Persons | 2023 | up 146.2% | rising |
| 29 | Serbia | 2,793 Persons | 2024 | up 90.4% | volatile |
| 30 | Latvia | 1,911 Persons | 2023 | up 71.1% | rising |
| 31 | Iceland | 1,599 Persons | 2023 | up 25.1% | rising |
| 32 | Luxembourg | 1,341 Persons | 2023 | up 22.2% | falling |
| 33 | Cyprus | 735 Persons | 2023 | up 116.8% | rising |
| 34 | Malta | 676 Persons | 2023 | up 22.5% | rising |
| 35 | North Macedonia | 408 Persons | 2022 | up 240.0% | volatile |
| 36 | Montenegro | 158 Persons | 2019 | up 26.4% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- EU-27 1.57 million Persons
- Korea 438,674 Persons
- Euro area (20 countries) 1.25 million Persons
- Slovak Republic 9,233 Persons
- Euro area (19 countries) 1.24 million Persons
About this data
This table contains research and development (R&D) personnel statistics in large (TL2) regions. Indicators covered Number of R&D personnel is provided in both headcounts and full-time equivalent on R&D by sex, sector of performance (business enterprise, government, higher education, and private non-profit). Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). TL3 regions are grouped into typologies based on shared characteristics. See the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table (xls) and the OECD Territorial grid (pdf). Cite this dataset OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database http://oe.cd/geostats Further information Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development Frascati Manual 2015 The interactive web-tool OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas The report OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance For any question or comment, please write to RegionStat@oecd.org