R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Indirect government support through R&D tax incentives (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 — Indirect government support through R&D tax incentives (GTARD) is currently reported for 46 countries. The highest value is 0.4189 Percentage of GDP in Portugal; the lowest is 0 Percentage of GDP in Argentina.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.0642 Percentage of GDP, and the mean is 0.0945 Percentage of GDP.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 15 fell. The largest increase was in Italy (up 1,283.8%), and the largest decrease in Latvia (down 100.0%).
R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Indirect: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 0.4189 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 364.9% | volatile |
| 1 | United Kingdom | 0.2745 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 199.3% | volatile |
| 2 | Iceland | 0.2802 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 351.2% | volatile |
| 2 | United States | 0.1635 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 145.1% | rising |
| 3 | France | 0.2689 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 3.0% | volatile |
| 3 | Türkiye | 0.1431 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 226.7% | volatile |
| 4 | China | 0.2426 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 345.1% | volatile |
| 4 | Netherlands | 0.1185 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 20.4% | rising |
| 5 | Austria | 0.2354 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 57.6% | rising |
| 6 | Belgium | 0.2315 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 74.7% | volatile |
| 6 | Slovenia | 0.1033 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 1.0% | volatile |
| 7 | Ireland | 0.186 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 19.2% | volatile |
| 7 | Poland | 0.0674 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 8 | Japan | 0.1652 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 27.1% | rising |
| 9 | Canada | 0.1589 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 21.5% | falling |
| 9 | Lithuania | 0.0429 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 171.5% | volatile |
| 10 | Australia | 0.156 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 9.4% | rising |
| 10 | Croatia | 0.0012 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 96.7% | volatile |
| 11 | OECD | 0.155 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 79.6% | rising |
| 11 | Estonia | 0.0009 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 12 | Spain | 0.1427 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 41.8% | rising |
| 12 | Latvia | 0 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 13 | Russia | 0.1121 Percentage of GDP | 2019 | up 37.4% | rising |
| 14 | Brazil | 0.1104 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 259.6% | volatile |
| 15 | New Zealand | 0.1077 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 16 | Malaysia | 0.07 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 17 | Norway | 0.0685 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 18 | Denmark | 0.061 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 272.0% | volatile |
| 19 | Italy | 0.0512 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 1,283.8% | volatile |
| 20 | Czechia | 0.0457 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 11.8% | volatile |
| 21 | Sweden | 0.0439 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 302.8% | volatile |
| 22 | Hungary | 0.0326 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 79.5% | falling |
| 23 | Greece | 0.0245 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 512.5% | volatile |
| 24 | Germany | 0.0178 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 25 | Cyprus | 0.015 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 26 | Finland | 0.0145 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 74.7% | volatile |
| 27 | South Africa | 0.0052 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 5.5% | volatile |
| 28 | Romania | 0.0044 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 33.3% | volatile |
| 29 | Chile | 0.002 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 122.2% | volatile |
| 30 | Mexico | 0.0013 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 31 | Thailand | 0.0008 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 46.7% | volatile |
| 32 | Colombia | 0.0007 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 94.0% | volatile |
| 33 | Peru | 0.0006 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 34 | Indonesia | 0 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 35 | Malta | 0 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 35 | Argentina | 0 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- European Union (27 countries from 01/02/2020) 0.109 Percentage of GDP
- Korea 0.1157 Percentage of GDP
- Slovak Republic 0.0443 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.