Researchers by sector of performance, age class and sex by country
Countries reporting
38
Highest
989,223
Japan
Lowest
1,586
Montenegro
Median
69,442
Years covered
45
1980–2024
Data points
950
What the numbers show
Researchers by sector of performance, age class and sex is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 989,223 in Japan; the lowest is 1,586 in Montenegro.
The median across all reporting countries is 69,442, and the mean is 153,869.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 624.
Over the past decade 37 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Bosnia and Herzegovina (up 141.3%), and the largest decrease in Russia (down 5.7%).
Researchers by sector of performance, age class and sex: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 989,223 | 2023 | up 10.8% | rising |
| 2 | Germany | 742,803 | 2023 | up 35.2% | rising |
| 3 | South Korea | 603,566 | 2023 | up 47.1% | rising |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 535,477 | 2018 | up 42.0% | rising |
| 5 | France | 483,383 | 2023 | up 32.0% | rising |
| 6 | Russia | 348,221 | 2019 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 7 | Spain | 276,018 | 2023 | up 32.2% | rising |
| 8 | Italy | 229,079 | 2023 | up 39.7% | rising |
| 9 | Poland | 224,934 | 2023 | up 105.2% | rising |
| 10 | Netherlands | 157,331 | 2023 | up 34.9% | rising |
| 11 | Sweden | 143,042 | 2023 | up 40.5% | rising |
| 12 | Portugal | 125,348 | 2024 | up 59.2% | volatile |
| 13 | Belgium | 118,083 | 2023 | up 77.0% | rising |
| 14 | Austria | 101,998 | 2023 | up 42.8% | rising |
| 15 | Greece | 89,396 | 2023 | up 66.3% | rising |
| 16 | Switzerland | 86,486 | 2023 | up 43.5% | rising |
| 17 | Denmark | 73,396 | 2023 | up 27.3% | rising |
| 18 | Czechia | 70,371 | 2024 | up 29.1% | rising |
| 19 | Norway | 69,866 | 2023 | up 46.2% | rising |
| 20 | Finland | 69,017 | 2023 | up 21.7% | rising |
| 21 | Hungary | 67,009 | 2023 | up 77.3% | rising |
| 22 | Ireland | 43,645 | 2023 | up 36.0% | rising |
| 23 | Slovakia | 32,274 | 2023 | up 32.0% | rising |
| 24 | Romania | 31,182 | 2023 | up 13.0% | falling |
| 25 | Bulgaria | 23,489 | 2023 | up 45.9% | volatile |
| 26 | Serbia | 19,323 | 2024 | up 27.4% | rising |
| 27 | Lithuania | 19,190 | 2023 | up 6.1% | rising |
| 28 | Slovenia | 17,587 | 2023 | up 45.2% | rising |
| 29 | Croatia | 17,013 | 2023 | up 52.3% | rising |
| 30 | Estonia | 10,363 | 2023 | up 37.9% | rising |
| 31 | Latvia | 8,625 | 2023 | up 15.8% | rising |
| 32 | Iceland | 4,702 | 2023 | up 40.1% | rising |
| 33 | Luxembourg | 4,186 | 2023 | up 54.3% | rising |
| 34 | Cyprus | 3,072 | 2023 | up 37.9% | rising |
| 35 | North Macedonia | 2,798 | 2022 | up 25.4% | rising |
| 36 | Malta | 2,023 | 2023 | up 46.3% | rising |
| 37 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,928 | 2021 | up 141.3% | rising |
| 38 | Montenegro | 1,586 | 2019 | up 2.6% | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- European Union - 27 countries (from 2020) 3.18 million
- Euro area – 21 countries (from 2026) 2.57 million
- Euro area – 20 countries (2023-2025) 2.54 million
- Türkiye 344,650