Korea, Rep.: Researchers in R&D (per million people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Korea, Rep.'s researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 37.06 on 2022 (from 9,435 to 9,472).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2022), the average change was +278.8 and a typical year strayed about 194.81 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 582.63 in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 234 in 1998. 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 329.23 a year. A straight line explains 98% 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 10,467 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 223.5, against 706 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, Korea, Rep. had the 2nd 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.

Closest to Korea, Rep. in the 2023 ranking

• Sweden — 2nd of 43: 8,911
• Denmark — 3rd of 43: 8,838
• Finland — 4th of 43: 8,315

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

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

• China — 2,107 (2023)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 5,874 (2024)
• Japan — 5,609 (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 Korea, Rep.

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 21.29 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 41.17 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 459,735 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 12,294 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 76.27 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 89.22 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 172.52 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$18.72 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 12.47% (2025)
• Patent applications, nonresidents

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Korea, Rep.'s researchers in R&D (per million people)?

9,472 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 333.28% from 2,186 in 1996 (5.58% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 9,472 in 2023 and the lowest 2,008 in 1998.

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.