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R&D spending, % of GDP

The UK ranks 7th of 28 on R&D spending, % of GDP (2023)

The UK ranks 7th of 28 on R&D spending, % of GDP in 2023: 2.68, unit % of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D), against an EU27 median of 1.56. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), EXPGDP.TOT, snapshot of 6 November 2026.

Total spending on research and development as a share of GDP.

Caveat. GDP is the denominator, so Ireland's and Luxembourg's GDP distortions also move this measure. Latest UNESCO year is 2023 for all 28.

The UK

R&D spending, % of GDP

2.68% of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)(2023)

7th of 28No change in rank from 2016 to 2023.
EU27 median
1.56 % of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)
UK minus EU27 median
+1.12 % of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)

League table

Values in % of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D). Countries ranked by value, 1 = top of the table, 28 with a value.

R&D spending, % of GDP, 2023: league table of countries
1Sweden3.602023
2Belgium3.272023
3Austria3.262023
4Germany3.152023
5Finland3.092023
6Denmark3.052023
7United KingdomUK2.682023
8Netherlands2.272023
9France2.182023
10Slovenia2.132023
11Estonia1.842023
12Czechia1.832023
13Portugal1.692023
14Ireland1.592023
15Poland1.562023
16Greece1.492023
17Spain1.492023
18Croatia1.392023
19Italy1.382023
20Hungary1.382023
21Luxembourg1.072023
22Lithuania1.052023
23Slovakia1.032023
24Latvia0.822023
25Bulgaria0.792023
26Cyprus0.682023
27Malta0.652023
28Romania0.522023

Trend, 2000 to 2023

R&D spending, % of GDP, 2000 to 2023Line chart, 2000 to 2023: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.% of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)12320002005201020152020123United States3Japan3Switzerland3Germany3United Kingdom3EU272France2Australia2Norway2Canada2Spain1Italy1R&D spending, % of GDP, 2000 to 2023Line chart, 2000 to 2023: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.% of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)123200020102020123United StatesJapanSwitzerlandGermanyUnited KingdomEU27FranceAustraliaNorwayCanadaSpainItaly
  • Heavy ink line: United Kingdom
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Dashed dark line: EU27 aggregate
  • Thin grey lines, reference countries (not the big four): Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
  • Shaded: 2008–09 financial crisis
  • Shaded: 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic
  • Shaded: 2022–23 energy price shock
  • Marker 1: EU referendum (23 June 2016)
  • Marker 2: UK leaves the EU (31 January 2020)
  • Marker 3: Transition period ends; Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force (1 January 2021)
Trends show what happened, not why; Covid, energy prices and policy changes overlap the same years. Dotted lines are projections and are not ranked.

UK rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top. Each year is ranked on that year's values.

UK rank, 2000 to 2023: 8th to 7th6th8th10th12th20002005201020152020June 20167thUK rank, 2000 to 2023: 8th to 7th6th8th10th12th200020102020June 20167th

2000: 8th · 2023: 7th

Sources and method

Total spending on research and development as a share of GDP.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) · series EXPGDP.TOT· vintage as fetched 2026-11-06 · fetched 2026-11-06

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), adapted; https://api.uis.unesco.org/; extracted 2026-11-06.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 per the UIS Data Browser terms (UIS publications use CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO). Share-alike: derived datasets we redistribute should carry the same licence. Credit must include the full URL and extraction date; no implied UIS endorsement.