Research and development expenditure in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Research and development expenditure was 0.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Research and development expenditure in Bulgaria, 1996–2023
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 0.8% for research and development expenditure in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.4% on the previous year and up 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research and development expenditure in Bulgaria peaked at 0.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1996.
Bulgaria ranks 47th of 116 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Research and development expenditure in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.4% | — |
| 1997 | 0.5% | +11.3% |
| 1998 | 0.5% | +3.6% |
| 1999 | 0.5% | +11.3% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | -7.8% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -9.7% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -6.0% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | +10.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +14.1% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +13.4% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | +5.6% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | +24.6% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | +20.2% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -18.9% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 0.8% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +10.7% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -9.0% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +5.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More science & technology data for Bulgaria
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 118.07 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.24 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 7.98 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 73.83 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 0.1136 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -0.4474 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 4,998 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0008 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research and development expenditure in Bulgaria?
- Research and development expenditure in Bulgaria was 0.8% in 2023, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest research and development expenditure recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest research and development expenditure recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1996.
- How does Bulgaria rank for research and development expenditure?
- Bulgaria ranks 47th out of 116 countries with data for 2023.
- Is research and development expenditure rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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 · JSON — 28 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.