Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Latvia
Latvia: Research & development spending as a share of GDP was 0.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Latvia, 1996–2023
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Latvia recorded 0.8% for research & development spending as a share of gdp in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 29.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research & development spending as a share of gdp in Latvia peaked at 0.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1999.
Latvia ranks 45th 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 & development spending as a share of GDP in Latvia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.4% | — |
| 1997 | 0.4% | -7.9% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -7.1% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | +23.2% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -7.8% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -10.9% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +10.6% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | +32.1% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | +24.2% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -14.8% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -23.9% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +34.1% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +19.7% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -6.9% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +12.4% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -10.3% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -29.7% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | +17.6% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +24.8% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | +14.6% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +1.4% |
Latvia compared with similar countries
- Latvia's 0.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.5%, 55% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Latvia's 0.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 60% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latvia
More science & technology data for Latvia
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 121.26 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.22 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 2.27 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 36.27 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 1.13 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 0.5622 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 1,736 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0009 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research & development spending as a share of gdp in Latvia?
- Research & development spending as a share of gdp in Latvia was 0.8% 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 Latvia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Latvia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1999.
- How does Latvia rank for research & development spending as a share of gdp?
- Latvia ranks 45th out of 116 countries with data for 2023.
- Is research & development spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Latvia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latvia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development.