Europe & Central Asia: Technicians in R&D (per million people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Europe & Central Asia's technicians in R&D (per million people) rose 19.73 on 2016 (from 850.82 to 870.55).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2016), the average change was +9.91 and a typical year strayed about 42.98 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 102.71 in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 51.72 in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 12.26 a year. A straight line explains 63% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

The number of technicians participated in Research & Development (R&D), expressed as per million. Technicians and equivalent staff are people who perform scientific and technical tasks involving the application of concepts and operational methods, normally under the supervision of researchers. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.

Limitations: Estimates of the resources allocated to R&D are affected by national characteristics such as the periodicity and coverage of national R&D surveys across institutional sectors and industries; and the use of different sampling and estimation methods. R&D typically involves a few large performers, hence R&D surveys use various techniques to maintain up-to-date registers of known performers, while attempting to identify new or occasional performers.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 14 values

Technicians in R&D (per million people) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 369.56 (2018)
• Iraq — 22.98 (2018)
• Kuwait — 45.2 (2018)
• Malta — 885.98 (2017)

More infrastructure data for Europe & Central Asia

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 217 million (2025)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 23.3 (2025)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.25 billion (2025)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 134.6 (2025)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count — 152,016 (2024)
• Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 263,560 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 161,435 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 214,026 (2024)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Europe & Central Asia's technicians in R&D (per million people)?

870.55 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 18.95% from 731.85 in 2004 (1.34% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 894.39 in 2015 and the lowest 722.94 in 2005.

Is the latest change in technicians in R&D (per million people) unusual for Europe & Central Asia?

In 2017, Europe & Central Asia's technicians in R&D (per million people) rose 19.73 on 2016 (from 850.82 to 870.55). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2016), the average change was +9.91 and a typical year strayed about 42.98 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.TECH.RD.P6, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: http://uis.unesco.org, note: Data as of March 2021, publisher: UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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