Researchers per million inhabitants (FTE) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
103
Highest
9,472 FTE
South Korea
Lowest
1.45 FTE
Guatemala
Median
1,313 FTE
Years covered
29
1996–2024
Data points
3,275
What the numbers show
Researchers per million inhabitants (FTE) is currently reported for 103 countries. The highest value is 9,472 FTE in South Korea; the lowest is 1.45 FTE in Guatemala.
The median across all reporting countries is 1,313 FTE, and the mean is 2,478 FTE.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6,552.
Over the past decade 79 countries rose and 20 fell. The largest increase was in Rwanda (up 767.8%), and the largest decrease in Guatemala (down 91.9%).
Researchers per million inhabitants (FTE): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 9,472 FTE | 2023 | up 46.7% | rising |
| 2 | Sweden | 8,911 FTE | 2023 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 3 | Denmark | 8,838 FTE | 2023 | up 24.2% | rising |
| 4 | Singapore | 8,782 FTE | 2022 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 5 | Finland | 8,315 FTE | 2023 | up 15.1% | flat |
| 6 | Norway | 7,451 FTE | 2023 | up 32.9% | rising |
| 7 | Austria | 6,634 FTE | 2023 | up 38.7% | rising |
| 8 | Netherlands | 6,563 FTE | 2023 | up 34.3% | rising |
| 9 | Switzerland | 6,108 FTE | 2023 | up 35.8% | rising |
| 10 | Belgium | 5,990 FTE | 2023 | up 43.9% | rising |
| 11 | Portugal | 5,983 FTE | 2023 | up 65.9% | rising |
| 12 | Iceland | 5,953 FTE | 2023 | up 3.7% | rising |
| 13 | Germany | 5,926 FTE | 2023 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 14 | Hong Kong | 5,874 FTE | 2024 | up 67.2% | rising |
| 15 | Ireland | 5,753 FTE | 2023 | up 11.9% | rising |
| 16 | Canada | 5,624 FTE | 2022 | up 20.9% | rising |
| 17 | Slovenia | 5,616 FTE | 2023 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 18 | Japan | 5,609 FTE | 2023 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 19 | New Zealand | 5,435 FTE | 2023 | up 34.4% | rising |
| 20 | France | 5,369 FTE | 2023 | up 29.9% | rising |
| 21 | Luxembourg | 5,359 FTE | 2023 | up 15.0% | rising |
| 22 | Greece | 5,283 FTE | 2023 | up 99.0% | rising |
| 23 | United States | 4,937 FTE | 2022 | up 32.2% | rising |
| 24 | Estonia | 4,800 FTE | 2023 | up 43.8% | rising |
| 25 | Macao | 4,634 FTE | 2024 | up 360.1% | volatile |
| 26 | Australia | 4,569 FTE | 2010 | up 31.6% | rising |
| 27 | Hungary | 4,567 FTE | 2023 | up 80.7% | rising |
| 28 | Czechia | 4,505 FTE | 2023 | up 38.1% | rising |
| 29 | United Kingdom | 4,473 FTE | 2017 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 30 | Lithuania | 3,704 FTE | 2023 | up 28.7% | rising |
| 31 | Poland | 3,675 FTE | 2023 | up 96.7% | rising |
| 32 | Spain | 3,654 FTE | 2023 | up 39.3% | rising |
| 33 | Slovakia | 3,507 FTE | 2023 | up 28.8% | rising |
| 34 | Italy | 2,855 FTE | 2023 | up 49.0% | rising |
| 35 | Serbia | 2,688 FTE | 2024 | up 47.4% | rising |
| 36 | Turkey | 2,645 FTE | 2023 | up 124.9% | volatile |
| 37 | Russia | 2,639 FTE | 2024 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 2,607 FTE | 2021 | up 20.2% | rising |
| 39 | Croatia | 2,440 FTE | 2023 | up 58.9% | rising |
| 40 | Bulgaria | 2,401 FTE | 2023 | up 42.4% | rising |
| 41 | Malta | 2,355 FTE | 2023 | up 25.2% | rising |
| 42 | Iran | 2,240 FTE | 2021 | up 214.4% | volatile |
| 43 | Latvia | 2,191 FTE | 2023 | up 22.3% | rising |
| 44 | Cuba | 2,171 FTE | 2024 | up 5.7% | flat |
| 45 | China | 2,107 FTE | 2023 | up 95.2% | rising |
| 46 | Georgia | 1,896 FTE | 2024 | up 68.3% | rising |
| 47 | Cyprus | 1,686 FTE | 2023 | up 63.7% | rising |
| 48 | Tunisia | 1,668 FTE | 2024 | down 7.1% | rising |
| 49 | Azerbaijan | 1,663 FTE | 2024 | down 3.1% | flat |
| 50 | Thailand | 1,592 FTE | 2023 | up 105.7% | volatile |
| 51 | Belarus | 1,568 FTE | 2024 | — | rising |
| 52 | Argentina | 1,313 FTE | 2023 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 53 | Saudi Arabia | 1,235 FTE | 2024 | — | rising |
| 54 | Malaysia | 1,218 FTE | 2022 | down 31.2% | volatile |
| 55 | Egypt | 1,120 FTE | 2024 | up 77.0% | rising |
| 56 | Morocco | 1,083 FTE | 2016 | up 65.8% | rising |
| 57 | Romania | 1,082 FTE | 2023 | up 17.1% | falling |
| 58 | Uruguay | 937.57 FTE | 2024 | up 41.1% | rising |
| 59 | Brazil | 903.2 FTE | 2014 | up 84.6% | rising |
| 60 | North Macedonia | 888.07 FTE | 2024 | up 2.4% | rising |
| 61 | Vietnam | 836.11 FTE | 2023 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 62 | Montenegro | 764.42 FTE | 2019 | up 18.9% | rising |
| 63 | Kazakhstan | 758.01 FTE | 2024 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 64 | Oman | 739.41 FTE | 2024 | up 305.2% | volatile |
| 65 | Chile | 707.06 FTE | 2022 | up 81.4% | rising |
| 66 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 705.16 FTE | 2024 | up 148.5% | volatile |
| 67 | Mauritius | 688.53 FTE | 2024 | up 289.1% | rising |
| 68 | Moldova | 649.94 FTE | 2024 | down 29.8% | flat |
| 69 | Uzbekistan | 639.54 FTE | 2024 | up 25.7% | falling |
| 70 | Ukraine | 586.08 FTE | 2022 | down 51.6% | falling |
| 71 | Palestine | 584.35 FTE | 2013 | up 670.1% | volatile |
| 72 | Senegal | 572.42 FTE | 2015 | up 116.1% | rising |
| 73 | Costa Rica | 507.76 FTE | 2023 | up 41.4% | rising |
| 74 | Trinidad and Tobago | 492.72 FTE | 2022 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 75 | Pakistan | 473.72 FTE | 2023 | up 228.0% | volatile |
| 76 | South Africa | 444.16 FTE | 2022 | up 10.8% | rising |
| 77 | Mexico | 438.25 FTE | 2024 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 78 | Ecuador | 400.26 FTE | 2014 | up 722.5% | volatile |
| 79 | Indonesia | 395.34 FTE | 2020 | up 347.6% | rising |
| 80 | Kenya | 384.02 FTE | 2024 | up 69.2% | volatile |
| 81 | Philippines | 320.28 FTE | 2020 | up 298.8% | volatile |
| 82 | India | 259.26 FTE | 2020 | up 66.0% | rising |
| 83 | Panama | 250.47 FTE | 2024 | up 170.0% | rising |
| 84 | Venezuela | 179.96 FTE | 2023 | down 50.6% | rising |
| 85 | Iraq | 164.28 FTE | 2021 | down 61.8% | volatile |
| 86 | Kuwait | 144.75 FTE | 2024 | down 77.3% | volatile |
| 87 | Paraguay | 138.79 FTE | 2023 | down 24.8% | rising |
| 88 | Rwanda | 133.12 FTE | 2023 | up 767.8% | volatile |
| 89 | Congo | 126.97 FTE | 2022 | — | volatile |
| 90 | Sri Lanka | 94.49 FTE | 2022 | down 11.7% | falling |
| 91 | Colombia | 90.25 FTE | 2017 | — | rising |
| 92 | Ethiopia | 89.04 FTE | 2017 | up 351.4% | volatile |
| 93 | Bolivia | 63.06 FTE | 2021 | down 61.3% | falling |
| 94 | Togo | 57.79 FTE | 2024 | up 57.0% | rising |
| 95 | El Salvador | 55.47 FTE | 2023 | down 14.4% | falling |
| 96 | Mozambique | 44.41 FTE | 2015 | up 170.7% | rising |
| 97 | Zambia | 41.9 FTE | 2008 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 98 | Madagascar | 32.94 FTE | 2018 | down 27.0% | rising |
| 99 | Lesotho | 32.24 FTE | 2023 | up 443.0% | volatile |
| 100 | Myanmar | 28.01 FTE | 2023 | down 6.7% | rising |
| 101 | Niger | 26.94 FTE | 2013 | up 238.6% | volatile |
| 102 | Mali | 26.04 FTE | 2023 | down 11.4% | flat |
| 103 | Guatemala | 1.45 FTE | 2023 | down 91.9% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- MDG: Eastern Asia (excluding China) 6,827 FTE
- UIS: North America and Western Europe 5,119 FTE
- SDG: Northern America 5,006 FTE
- SDG: Australia and New Zealand 4,864 FTE
- WB: High Income (july 2025) 4,692 FTE
- MDG: Developed Regions 4,516 FTE
- SDG: Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand 4,371 FTE
- SDG: Europe and Northern America 4,358 FTE
- SDG: Europe 4,025 FTE
- SDG: Oceania 3,423 FTE
- SDG: Eastern Asia 2,632 FTE
- UIS: Central and Eastern Europe 2,520 FTE
- MDG: Eastern Asia 2,387 FTE
- UIS: East Asia and the Pacific 2,127 FTE
- SDG: Eastern and South-eastern Asia 2,100 FTE
- WB: Upper Middle Income (july 2025) 1,524 FTE
- MDG: World 1,486 FTE
- SDG: World 1,486 FTE
- UIS: World 1,486 FTE
- WB: World 1,486 FTE
- SDG: Western Asia 1,437 FTE
- UNESCO: Sids 1,245 FTE
- SDG: Northern Africa and Western Asia 1,200 FTE
- SDG: Small Island Developing States 1,194 FTE
- MDG: Western Asia 1,192 FTE
- MDG: Northern Africa 1,103 FTE
- SDG: Northern Africa 932.84 FTE
- MDG: Developing Regions 906.25 FTE
- WB: Middle Income (july 2025) 879.88 FTE
- MDG: South-eastern Asia 872.97 FTE
- SDG: South-eastern Asia 872.97 FTE
- UIS: Arab States 755.71 FTE
- MDG: Caucasus and Central Asia 687.13 FTE
- UIS: Central Asia 681.99 FTE
- UIS: Latin America and the Caribbean 668.04 FTE
- MDG: Latin America and the Caribbean 668.04 FTE
- SDG: Latin America and the Caribbean 668.04 FTE
- MDG: Southern Asia (excluding India) 556.92 FTE
- SDG: Central Asia 497.04 FTE
- SDG: Central and Southern Asia 352.95 FTE
About this data
February 2026 Data Release