R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD was 0.8936 Percentage of GDP in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
0.8936 Percentage of GDP
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
4th
of 12 countries
All-time high
0.9818 Percentage of GDP
in 2020
All-time low
0.6016 Percentage of GDP
in 2001
Years of data
24
2000–2023

R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD in United Kingdom, 2000–2023

00.20.40.60.812000201120232000: 0.612 Percentage of GDP2001: 0.602 Percentage of GDP2002: 0.698 Percentage of GDP2003: 0.692 Percentage of GDP2004: 0.681 Percentage of GDP2005: 0.656 Percentage of GDP2006: 0.653 Percentage of GDP2007: 0.653 Percentage of GDP2008: 0.638 Percentage of GDP2009: 0.668 Percentage of GDP2010: 0.647 Percentage of GDP2011: 0.618 Percentage of GDP2012: 0.609 Percentage of GDP2013: 0.65 Percentage of GDP2014: 0.704 Percentage of GDP2015: 0.733 Percentage of GDP2016: 0.739 Percentage of GDP2017: 0.768 Percentage of GDP2018: 0.835 Percentage of GDP2019: 0.846 Percentage of GDP2020: 0.982 Percentage of GDP2021: 0.931 Percentage of GDP2022: 0.898 Percentage of GDP2023: 0.894 Percentage of GDP

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.

Analysis

In 2023, r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd in United Kingdom stood at 0.8936 Percentage of GDP.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 37.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd in United Kingdom peaked at 0.9818 Percentage of GDP in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.6016 Percentage of GDP, in 2001.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for 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) in United Kingdom, 2000 to 2023.
Year Percentage of GDP Change
2000 0.6117 Percentage of GDP
2001 0.6016 Percentage of GDP -1.7%
2002 0.698 Percentage of GDP +16.0%
2003 0.6917 Percentage of GDP -0.9%
2004 0.6807 Percentage of GDP -1.6%
2005 0.6562 Percentage of GDP -3.6%
2006 0.6534 Percentage of GDP -0.4%
2007 0.6534 Percentage of GDP +0.0%
2008 0.6385 Percentage of GDP -2.3%
2009 0.6681 Percentage of GDP +4.6%
2010 0.6471 Percentage of GDP -3.1%
2011 0.6183 Percentage of GDP -4.5%
2012 0.6086 Percentage of GDP -1.6%
2013 0.6498 Percentage of GDP +6.8%
2014 0.7041 Percentage of GDP +8.4%
2015 0.7326 Percentage of GDP +4.0%
2016 0.7394 Percentage of GDP +0.9%
2017 0.7679 Percentage of GDP +3.9%
2018 0.8348 Percentage of GDP +8.7%
2019 0.8464 Percentage of GDP +1.4%
2020 0.9818 Percentage of GDP +16.0%
2021 0.9311 Percentage of GDP -5.2%
2022 0.8984 Percentage of GDP -3.5%
2023 0.8936 Percentage of GDP -0.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.6553 Percentage of GDP 0.6016 Percentage of GDP 0.698 Percentage of GDP 10
2010s 0.7149 Percentage of GDP 0.6086 Percentage of GDP 0.8464 Percentage of GDP 10
2020s 0.9262 Percentage of GDP 0.8936 Percentage of GDP 0.9818 Percentage of GDP 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 1 Japan 1.54 Percentage of GDP compare
  2. 2 Iceland 1.32 Percentage of GDP compare
  3. 2 Slovenia 0.9177 Percentage of GDP compare
  4. 3 Netherlands 0.9143 Percentage of GDP compare
  5. 3 Austria 1.13 Percentage of GDP compare
  6. 4 Germany 1.06 Percentage of GDP compare
  7. 5 Denmark 0.9525 Percentage of GDP compare
  8. 5 United States 0.8808 Percentage of GDP compare
  9. 6 Estonia 0.7981 Percentage of GDP compare
  10. 6 Norway 0.9202 Percentage of GDP compare
  11. 7 Croatia 0.6724 Percentage of GDP compare
  12. 7 Finland 0.9198 Percentage of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More economy & growth data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd in United Kingdom?
R&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd in United Kingdom was 0.8936 Percentage of GDP in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 0.9818 Percentage of GDP in 2020.
What is the lowest r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6016 Percentage of GDP in 2001.
How does United Kingdom rank for r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd?
United Kingdom ranks 4th out of 12 countries with data for 2023.
Is r&d tax expenditure and direct government funding of berd rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of 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). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/r-and-d-tax-expenditure-and-direct-government-funding-of-berd-government-budgets-for-r/united-kingdom-2/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/r-and-d-tax-expenditure-and-direct-government-funding-of-berd-government-budgets-for-r/united-kingdom-2/">R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD in United Kingdom</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
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)
Unit
Percentage of GDP
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 973 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.