Research and development expenditure in Australia
Australia: Research and development expenditure was 1.9% in 2021. β² Rising
Research and development expenditure in Australia, 1996β2021
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1.9% for research and development expenditure in 2021.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research and development expenditure in Australia peaked at 2.4% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 1998.
Australia ranks 18th of 116 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.4% | 6 |
| 2020s | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More science & technology data for Australia
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 112.58 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.11 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 30.07 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 3.87 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 0.0604 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 1.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 54,589 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.002 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research and development expenditure in Australia?
- Research and development expenditure in Australia was 1.9% in 2021, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest research and development expenditure recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 2008.
- What is the lowest research and development expenditure recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 1998.
- How does Australia rank for research and development expenditure?
- Australia ranks 18th out of 116 countries with data for 2021.
- Is research and development expenditure rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Research and development expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.