R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) by country

The OECD R&D Tax Incentives database provides a set of indicators that reflect the level and structure of central and subnational government support for business R&D in form of R&D tax incentives and direct funding across OECD member countries and other major economies. This includes time-series indicators of tax...

Countries reporting
43
Highest
1.37 Percentage of GDP
Japan
Lowest
0.0638 Percentage of GDP
Colombia
Median
0.5515 Percentage of GDP
Years covered
25
2000–2024
Data points
1,055

What the numbers show

R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) is currently reported for 43 countries. The highest value is 1.37 Percentage of GDP in Japan; the lowest is 0.0638 Percentage of GDP in Colombia.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.5515 Percentage of GDP, and the mean is 0.568 Percentage of GDP.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 21.

Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Latvia (up 118.1%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 44.3%).

R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Japan 1.37 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 94.7% rising
2 Iceland 1.04 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 45.8% rising
2 Slovenia 0.8144 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 88.1% rising
3 Germany 1.04 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 21.4% rising
3 Estonia 0.7972 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 14.5% rising
4 Finland 0.9054 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 6.9% falling
4 Netherlands 0.7958 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 10.8% flat
5 Switzerland 0.9044 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 7.6% rising
5 United States 0.6804 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 6.5% falling
6 Denmark 0.8915 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 11.0% rising
6 Croatia 0.6712 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 3.3% flat
7 Austria 0.8912 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 11.1% rising
7 United Kingdom 0.6191 Percentage of GDP 2023 up 10.9% falling
8 Norway 0.8516 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 0.0% rising
8 Poland 0.4878 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 12.8% rising
9 Sweden 0.728 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 12.2% flat
9 Lithuania 0.4636 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 33.9% falling
10 OECD 0.69 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 11.0% flat
10 Türkiye 0.4005 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 22.7% rising
11 Belgium 0.6534 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 3.0% rising
12 France 0.6481 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 5.8% falling
12 Latvia 0.3656 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 118.1% rising
13 Italy 0.6145 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 19.0% flat
14 Luxembourg 0.602 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 4.1% rising
15 Spain 0.5966 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 7.3% falling
16 Greece 0.5515 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 24.2% rising
17 New Zealand 0.5183 Percentage of GDP 2017 up 18.4% flat
18 Israel 0.5176 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 15.6% falling
19 Russia 0.5138 Percentage of GDP 2020 up 7.5% flat
20 Czechia 0.4969 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 20.3% rising
21 Canada 0.4341 Percentage of GDP 2023 down 17.6% falling
22 Cyprus 0.4332 Percentage of GDP 2024 up 22.4% rising
23 Australia 0.3712 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 13.9% falling
24 Argentina 0.3289 Percentage of GDP 2012 up 64.9% rising
25 Portugal 0.289 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 20.5% falling
26 Hungary 0.266 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 3.9% falling
27 Bulgaria 0.2358 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 4.0% falling
28 Ireland 0.2058 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 43.2% falling
29 Mexico 0.1921 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 39.7% rising
30 Chile 0.1857 Percentage of GDP 2023 down 9.0% flat
31 Malta 0.1799 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 16.0% rising
32 Romania 0.1183 Percentage of GDP 2024 down 44.3% falling
33 Colombia 0.0638 Percentage of GDP 2020 down 24.8% rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD by country. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/r-and-d-tax-expenditure-and-direct-government-funding-of-berd-government-budget/

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About this data

Indicator
R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD)
Unit
Percentage of GDP
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 1,055 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

The OECD R&D Tax Incentives database provides a set of indicators that reflect the level and structure of central and subnational government support for business R&D in form of R&D tax incentives and direct funding across OECD member countries and other major economies. This includes time-series indicators of tax expenditures for R&D, based on the latest OECD data collection on tax incentive support for R&D expenditures. Estimates of the cost of R&D tax support at subnational government level are reported whenever such provisions are applicable and relevant data are available. These estimates of the cost of central and subnational R&D tax relief have been combined with data on direct government funding of business expenditure on R&D (BERD), as compiled by National Statistical Offices based on reports from firms, in order to provide a more complete picture of government efforts to promote business R&D. Furthermore, these estimates are combined with data on Government budget allocations for R&D (GBARD) in the broader context of overall budgetary support for R&D activities undertaken by governments. Government budget allocations for R&D include direct funding provided to all sectors, including contributions to R&D programmes abroad. OECD (2019) provides a practical guide to using the OECD R&D Tax Incentives database, describing the R&D tax incentive time series data and highlighting their potential for internationally comparative work through descriptive indicators and econometric analysis.