R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Government budgets for R&D and tax incentive support for business R&D (GBARD+GTARD) 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 budgets for R&D and tax incentive support for business R&D (GBARD+GTARD) is currently reported for 43 countries. The highest value is 1.54 Percentage of GDP in Japan; the lowest is 0.0758 Percentage of GDP in Colombia.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.602 Percentage of GDP, and the mean is 0.6561 Percentage of GDP.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 20.
Over the past decade 25 countries rose and 18 fell. The largest increase was in Latvia (up 117.2%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 43.1%).
R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 1.54 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 84.1% | rising |
| 2 | Iceland | 1.32 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 70.2% | rising |
| 2 | Slovenia | 0.9177 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 70.8% | rising |
| 3 | Austria | 1.13 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 3 | Netherlands | 0.9143 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 4 | Germany | 1.06 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 23.4% | rising |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 0.8936 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 37.5% | rising |
| 5 | Denmark | 0.9525 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 6.5% | flat |
| 5 | United States | 0.8808 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 12.2% | falling |
| 6 | Norway | 0.9202 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 6 | Estonia | 0.7981 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 7 | Finland | 0.9198 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 6.2% | falling |
| 7 | Croatia | 0.6724 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 8.0% | flat |
| 8 | France | 0.9152 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 7.0% | falling |
| 8 | Poland | 0.5552 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 28.4% | rising |
| 9 | Switzerland | 0.9044 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 9 | Türkiye | 0.5436 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 46.8% | rising |
| 10 | Belgium | 0.8813 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 10 | Lithuania | 0.5065 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 40.0% | falling |
| 11 | OECD | 0.845 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 19.4% | rising |
| 12 | Sweden | 0.7719 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 8.1% | flat |
| 12 | Latvia | 0.3656 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 117.2% | rising |
| 13 | Spain | 0.7393 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 20.6% | rising |
| 14 | Portugal | 0.7156 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 47.4% | rising |
| 15 | Italy | 0.6794 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 29.5% | rising |
| 16 | Luxembourg | 0.602 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 4.1% | rising |
| 17 | Canada | 0.5811 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 18 | Greece | 0.576 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 28.6% | rising |
| 19 | Russia | 0.5599 Percentage of GDP | 2019 | up 0.1% | falling |
| 20 | Czechia | 0.5426 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 19.6% | rising |
| 21 | Australia | 0.5272 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 12.6% | falling |
| 22 | New Zealand | 0.5262 Percentage of GDP | 2017 | up 20.2% | flat |
| 23 | Israel | 0.5176 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 15.6% | falling |
| 24 | Cyprus | 0.4413 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 32.0% | rising |
| 25 | Ireland | 0.3863 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 38.2% | flat |
| 26 | Argentina | 0.3298 Percentage of GDP | 2012 | up 56.8% | rising |
| 27 | Hungary | 0.2987 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 31.5% | falling |
| 28 | Bulgaria | 0.2358 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 4.0% | falling |
| 29 | Mexico | 0.1935 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 39.3% | flat |
| 30 | Chile | 0.1877 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 8.4% | falling |
| 31 | Malta | 0.1799 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 25.1% | falling |
| 32 | Romania | 0.1227 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 43.1% | falling |
| 33 | Colombia | 0.0758 Percentage of GDP | 2020 | down 14.4% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 1.15 Percentage of GDP
- European Union (27 countries from 01/02/2020) 0.7891 Percentage of GDP
- Slovak Republic 0.4141 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.