Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Greece
Greece: Research & development spending as a share of GDP was 1.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Greece, 1997–2023
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Greece recorded 1.5% for research & development spending as a share of gdp in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 81.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research & development spending as a share of gdp in Greece peaked at 1.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1997.
Greece ranks 29th of 116 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Greece, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0.4% | — |
| 1999 | 0.6% | +33.5% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | +9.5% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | +14.7% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +13.0% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +5.2% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | +14.4% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | +14.9% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | +14.3% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +5.0% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +17.9% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +1.2% |
Greece compared with similar countries
- Greece's 1.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.5%, 100% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Greece's 1.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Greece
More science & technology data for Greece
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 113.6 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.1 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 11.41 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 88.04 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 2.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 0.5798 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 13,552 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0013 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research & development spending as a share of gdp in Greece?
- Research & development spending as a share of gdp in Greece was 1.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Greece?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Greece?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1997.
- How does Greece rank for research & development spending as a share of gdp?
- Greece ranks 29th out of 116 countries with data for 2023.
- Is research & development spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Greece?
- Over the last ten years it is up 81.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Greece data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Research & development spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development.