Research and development expenditure in Spain
Spain: Research and development expenditure was 1.5% in 2023. β² Rising
Research and development expenditure in Spain, 1996β2023
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Spain recorded 1.5% for research and development expenditure in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 6.2% on the previous year and up 17.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research and development expenditure in Spain peaked at 1.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1997.
Spain ranks 30th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 4 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 27 New Zealand 1.5% compare
- 28 United Arab Emirates 1.5% compare
- 29 Greece 1.5% compare
- 31 Turkey 1.4% compare
- 32 Croatia, Republic of 1.4% compare
- 33 Italy 1.4% compare
More science & technology data for Spain
- Scientific and technical journal articles 60,304 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0012 units per person (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per square kilometre 0.1207 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Digital connectivity composite index 0.6119 standard deviations from the yearly mean (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, annual growth rate -1.58 % change on previous year (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country 62.41 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people 130.26 (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions 130.26 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents 126 (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research and development expenditure in Spain?
- Research and development expenditure in Spain was 1.5% 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest research and development expenditure recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1997.
- How does Spain rank for research and development expenditure?
- Spain ranks 30th out of 116 countries with data for 2023.
- Is research and development expenditure rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 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.