Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Moldova
Moldova: Research & development spending as a share of GDP was 0.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Moldova, 1996–2024
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for research & development spending as a share of gdp in Moldova is 0.2%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and down 31.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research & development spending as a share of gdp in Moldova peaked at 0.9% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2024.
That places Moldova 87th out of 116 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Moldova, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.9% | — |
| 1997 | 0.8% | -7.6% |
| 2003 | 0.3% | -59.8% |
| 2004 | 0.3% | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +14.2% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | +34.3% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -30.3% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -7.9% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -14.7% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -8.9% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -7.9% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 0.2% | -2.4% |
Moldova compared with similar countries
- Moldova's 0.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3%, 75% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Moldova's 0.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 16% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Moldova changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | -59.8% | 0.8% | 0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Moldova
More science & technology data for Moldova
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 120.08 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.52 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 3.64 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 120.66 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate -7.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate -8.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 335.06 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research & development spending as a share of gdp in Moldova?
- Research & development spending as a share of gdp in Moldova was 0.2% in 2024, 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 Moldova?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 1996.
- What is the lowest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Moldova?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2024.
- How does Moldova rank for research & development spending as a share of gdp?
- Moldova ranks 87th out of 116 countries with data for 2024.
- Is research & development spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Moldova?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Moldova 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 — 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.