South Africa (2022)
0.6
% of GDP
unchanged YoY
YoY Change
unchanged
percentage points
Trend
neutral
Series length
22
years of data

Data

South Africa Research & Development Expenditure (% of GDP) (2022) — source data. World Bank.
Year % of GDP YoY Change
2022 0.6 unchanged
2021 0.6 unchanged
2020 0.6 unchanged
2019 0.6 -0.1pp
2018 0.7 -0.1pp
2017 0.8 +0.1pp
2016 0.7 unchanged
2015 0.7 unchanged
2014 0.7 unchanged
2013 0.7 unchanged
2012 0.7 unchanged
2011 0.7 unchanged
2010 0.7 unchanged
2009 0.7 -0.1pp
2008 0.8 unchanged
2007 0.8 unchanged
2006 0.8 unchanged
2005 0.8 +0.1pp
2004 0.7 unchanged
2003 0.7 n/a

About this Dataset

South Africa recorded 0.6 % of GDP in 2022. That is unchanged on the previous period. Across 1997–2022 the series ranges from 0.5 in 1997 to 0.8 in 2008.

This page tracks total R&D expenditure (public + private) as a share of GDP in South Africa from 1996 to present. R&D intensity is a leading indicator of innovation capability and future economic productivity.

Data sourced from World Bank via Open Data API. Values use World Bank standardised methodology intended for cross-country comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page tracks total R&D expenditure (public + private) as a share of GDP in South Africa from 1996 to present. R&D intensity is a leading indicator of innovation capability and future economic productivity. It is published by World Bank and updated annually.

The most recent observation covers 2022. World Bank typically publishes this series with a lag of several months after the reference period. The series runs 1997–2022 (22 observations).

The series peaked at 0.8 % of GDP in 2008 and reached its lowest recorded value of 0.5 in 1997. The latest reading of 0.6 in 2022 is unchanged on the previous period.