Spending on research and development (R&D) adjusted for purchasing power parity was US$33.7 billion in 2015, the ninth-highest among 42 nations and economies worldwide, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Wednesday.
Citing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, the DGBAS said that the nation’s spending on R&D in 2015 was 3.6 percent higher than the previous year.
The amount in 2015 was 3.1 percent of GDP and represented an average annual increase of 6.1 percent from the previous five years, 13th-highest among the 42 economies, the DGBAS said.
Over the five-year period, Slovakia had the highest average annual rate of increase at 18.2 percent, followed by China with 13.9 percent, the data showed.
The US spent the most on R&D in 2015 at US$502.9 billion, followed by China with US$408.8 billion and Japan with US$170.1 billion.
The US’ spending increased by an 4.9 percent from a year earlier, while China’s was up 10.5 percent and Japan’s fell 0.3 percent, the data showed.
The business sector was the largest contributor to R&D spending in major economies, accounting for 78.5 percent in Japan and more than 76 percent in Taiwan, South Korea and China, the data showed.
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