R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of)
China (People's Republic of): R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity was 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) in 2023. ▲ Rising
R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of), 2008–2023
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons (full-time equivalent).
Analysis
China (People's Republic of) recorded 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) for r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in 2023. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 14.7% on the previous year and up 109.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of) peaked at 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.40 million Persons (full-time equivalent), in 2008.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of), year by year
| Year | Persons (full-time equivalent) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1.40 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | — |
| 2009 | 1.65 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +18.0% |
| 2010 | 1.87 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +13.7% |
| 2011 | 2.17 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +15.8% |
| 2012 | 2.49 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +14.6% |
| 2013 | 2.74 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +10.2% |
| 2014 | 2.90 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 2.91 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 3.01 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 3.12 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 3.42 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +9.8% |
| 2019 | 3.67 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +7.1% |
| 2020 | 4.06 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 4.46 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +9.9% |
| 2022 | 5.00 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +12.0% |
| 2023 | 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | +14.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.52 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 1.40 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 1.65 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 2 |
| 2010s | 2.83 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 1.87 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 3.67 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.81 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 4.06 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) | 4 |
Countries ranked near China (People's Republic of)
- 1 Japan 626,709 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
- 2 Germany 543,452 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
- 3 France 311,701 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
- 3 United Kingdom 231,234 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
- 4 Türkiye 190,341 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
- 4 Taiwan 243,658 Persons (full-time equivalent) compare
More economy & growth data for China (People's Republic of)
- Effective tax rates - Corporate tax statistics — Effective average 21.15 Percentage of taxable income (2025)
- Effective tax rates - Corporate tax statistics — Effective marginal 18.27 Percentage of taxable income (2025)
- Employment by main economic activity - Regions 374.13 million Persons (2018)
- Effective tax rates for income based tax incentives - Corporate tax 28.8 Percentage of taxable income (2007)
- Effective tax rates for income based tax incentives - Corporate tax 0 Percentage of taxable income (2007)
- Effective tax rates for expenditure based tax incentives - Corporate 8.01 Percentage of taxable income (2025)
- Effective tax rates for expenditure based tax incentives - Corporate -14.83 Percentage of taxable income (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of)?
- R&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity in China (People's Republic of) was 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity recorded in China (People's Republic of)?
- The highest recorded value was 5.73 million Persons (full-time equivalent) in 2023.
- What is the lowest r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity recorded in China (People's Republic of)?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.40 million Persons (full-time equivalent) in 2008.
- How does China (People's Republic of) rank for r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity?
- China (People's Republic of) ranks 1st out of 12 groups with data for 2023.
- Is r&d personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity rising or falling in China (People's Republic of)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 109.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China (People's Republic of) data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of R&D personnel in the business enterprise sector by main activity — R&D Personnel (total economy). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
About this data
This table presents research and development (R&D) statistics on personnel in the business enterprise sector. Measured in full-time equivalent are the number of total R&D personnel and researchers in the business enterprise sector by industry according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) revision 4. Data at the industry level are presented from 2000, first year from which some countries converted their data from ISIC rev.3.1 to the current ISIC rev. 4 classification.