Research & development spending as a share of GDP in India
India: Research & development spending as a share of GDP was 0.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in India, 1996–2020
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
India recorded 0.6% for research & development spending as a share of gdp in 2020.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research & development spending as a share of gdp in India peaked at 0.9% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1996.
India ranks 54th of 116 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in India, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.6% | — |
| 1997 | 0.7% | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 0.7% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | +4.5% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | +5.2% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +8.9% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | +6.7% |
| 2009 | 0.8% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -5.4% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -2.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 0.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2%, 3.9× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near India
More science & technology data for India
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 79.35 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.7935 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 1.15 billion (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 389.67 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate -1.5 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -0.6206 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 228,174 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0002 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research & development spending as a share of gdp in India?
- Research & development spending as a share of gdp in India was 0.6% in 2020, 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2008.
- What is the lowest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1996.
- How does India rank for research & development spending as a share of gdp?
- India ranks 54th out of 116 countries with data for 2020.
- Is research & development spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development.