Research and development expenditure in South Africa
South Africa: Research and development expenditure was 0.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Research and development expenditure in South Africa, 1997–2022
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for research and development expenditure in South Africa is 0.6%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research and development expenditure in South Africa peaked at 0.8% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1997.
That places South Africa 56th out of 116 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Research and development expenditure in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0.5% | — |
| 2001 | 0.6% | +21.9% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | -11.6% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -10.1% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | -10.6% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More science & technology data for South Africa
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 179.34 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.79 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 114.79 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 89.37 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 4.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 5.88 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 14,949 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0002 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research and development expenditure in South Africa?
- Research and development expenditure in South Africa was 0.6% in 2022, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest research and development expenditure recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2008.
- What is the lowest research and development expenditure recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1997.
- How does South Africa rank for research and development expenditure?
- South Africa ranks 56th out of 116 countries with data for 2022.
- Is research and development expenditure rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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 — 22 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.