Japan's researchers in R&D (per million people) was 5,609 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 8.55% from 5,167 in 2013 (0.82% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5,609 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 5,340 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 5,167 | 2013 |
| Highest | 5,630 | 2022 |
| Lowest | 4,891 | 2002 |
| Average since 2014 | 5,410 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 4,906 | 1996 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Japan's researchers in R&D (per million people) fell 21.16 on 2022 (from 5,630 to 5,609).
Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2022), the average change was +27.82 and a typical year strayed about 118.62 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below 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 221.86 in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 245.04 in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 45.74 a year. A straight line explains 80% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 5,767 for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 123.88, against 158.95 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2023, Japan had the 15th highest value of the 43 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 5,609 | 2023 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 2,426 | 2023 |
| High income | 4,607 | 2022 |
Closest to Japan in the 2023 ranking
- Germany — 12th of 43: 5,926
- Ireland — 13th of 43: 5,753
- Slovenia — 14th of 43: 5,616
- New Zealand — 16th of 43: 5,435
- France — 17th of 43: 5,369
- Luxembourg — 18th of 43: 5,359
What this measures
The number of researchers engaged in Research &Development (R&D), expressed as per million. Researchers are professionals who conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories, models techniques instrumentation, software of operational methods. 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 28 values
| Year | Researchers in R&D (per million people) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 5,609 |
| 2022 | 5,630 |
| 2021 | 5,590 |
| 2020 | 5,450 |
| 2019 | 5,376 |
| 2018 | 5,340 |
| 2017 | 5,320 |
| 2016 | 5,233 |
| 2015 | 5,198 |
| 2014 | 5,352 |
| 2013 |
Researchers in R&D (per million people) in nearby economies
- China — 2,107 (2023)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 5,874 (2024)
- Korea, Rep. — 9,472 (2023)
- Macao SAR, China — 4,634 (2024)
- Malaysia — 1,218 (2022)
- Myanmar — 28.01 (2023)
- New Zealand — 5,435 (2023)
- Philippines — 320.28 (2020)
- Singapore — 8,782 (2022)
- Thailand — 1,592 (2023)
More infrastructure data for Japan
- Fixed telephone subscriptions — 59.33 million (2023)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 47.7 (2023)
- Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 975,616 (2023)
- Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 8,474 (2023)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 120.31 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 221.92 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 178.43 (2023)
- Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count — 12,102 (2024)
- Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 20,675 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Japan's researchers in R&D (per million people)?
- 5,609 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1996?
- It is up 14.31% from 4,906 in 1996 (0.5% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5,630 in 2022 and the lowest 4,891 in 2002.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources/bulk, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), date accessed: 2025-03-26, date published: 2025-02 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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