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...
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 | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
- Korea 1.04 Percentage of GDP
- European Union (27 countries from 01/02/2020) 0.6802 Percentage of GDP
- Slovak Republic 0.3698 Percentage of GDP
About this data
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.