R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Sum of tax incentive support for business R&D (GTARD) and government-financed BERD 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 — Sum of tax incentive support for business R&D (GTARD) and government-financed BERD is currently reported for 47 countries. The highest value is 0.516 Percentage of GDP in Portugal; the lowest is 0.0026 Percentage of GDP in Argentina.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.1378 Percentage of GDP, and the mean is 0.1645 Percentage of GDP.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 198.
Over the past decade 31 countries rose and 16 fell. The largest increase was in Greece (up 268.6%), and the largest decrease in Malta (down 89.5%).
R&D tax expenditure and direct government funding of BERD — Sum of: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 0.516 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 250.5% | volatile |
| 1 | United Kingdom | 0.4043 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 120.0% | volatile |
| 2 | Russia | 0.4728 Percentage of GDP | 2019 | down 3.6% | flat |
| 3 | Iceland | 0.4404 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 234.7% | volatile |
| 3 | United States | 0.2885 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 12.7% | rising |
| 4 | France | 0.4168 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 4 | Türkiye | 0.2764 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 238.3% | volatile |
| 5 | Austria | 0.3449 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 30.0% | rising |
| 5 | Netherlands | 0.2343 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 6 | Israel | 0.3445 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 41.0% | rising |
| 6 | Slovenia | 0.1744 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 29.4% | rising |
| 7 | Belgium | 0.3009 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 38.7% | rising |
| 7 | Poland | 0.151 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 198.4% | volatile |
| 8 | China | 0.2891 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 139.3% | rising |
| 8 | Estonia | 0.1206 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 90.5% | volatile |
| 9 | OECD | 0.2568 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 42.4% | rising |
| 10 | Japan | 0.2269 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 46.3% | rising |
| 10 | Lithuania | 0.0463 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 115.3% | volatile |
| 11 | Spain | 0.2249 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 42.1% | rising |
| 11 | Latvia | 0.0143 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 240.5% | volatile |
| 12 | Ireland | 0.2156 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 27.2% | volatile |
| 12 | Croatia | 0.0118 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 69.4% | volatile |
| 13 | Canada | 0.2102 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 22.4% | falling |
| 14 | Australia | 0.1901 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 3.8% | rising |
| 15 | Norway | 0.1693 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 16.3% | rising |
| 16 | Sweden | 0.1646 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 18.2% | falling |
| 17 | New Zealand | 0.1511 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 153.1% | rising |
| 18 | Brazil | 0.1378 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 29.5% | rising |
| 19 | Germany | 0.1302 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 102.8% | falling |
| 20 | Greece | 0.1257 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 268.6% | volatile |
| 21 | Hungary | 0.1187 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 62.6% | falling |
| 22 | Denmark | 0.1041 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 73.5% | rising |
| 23 | Czechia | 0.0993 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 34.1% | rising |
| 24 | Italy | 0.0879 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 79.0% | volatile |
| 25 | Finland | 0.0787 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | up 10.1% | falling |
| 26 | Switzerland | 0.0365 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 125.3% | flat |
| 27 | Cyprus | 0.0338 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | up 228.2% | volatile |
| 28 | Luxembourg | 0.033 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 27.3% | falling |
| 29 | Mexico | 0.0157 Percentage of GDP | 2017 | down 70.9% | volatile |
| 30 | Chile | 0.0156 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | up 77.3% | rising |
| 31 | Romania | 0.0155 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 53.6% | volatile |
| 32 | Colombia | 0.0139 Percentage of GDP | 2020 | up 189.6% | volatile |
| 33 | South Africa | 0.0129 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 44.4% | volatile |
| 34 | Costa Rica | 0.0042 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 49.4% | falling |
| 35 | Bulgaria | 0.0041 Percentage of GDP | 2022 | down 10.9% | volatile |
| 36 | Malta | 0.0035 Percentage of GDP | 2024 | down 89.5% | volatile |
| 37 | Argentina | 0.0026 Percentage of GDP | 2023 | down 74.3% | 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) 0.1946 Percentage of GDP
- Korea 0.3326 Percentage of GDP
- Slovak Republic 0.0835 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.