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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Korea, Rep.'s technicians in R&D (per million people) rose 60.33 on 2017 (from 1,251 to 1,311).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2017), the average change was +29.81 and a typical year strayed about 60.67 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 130.63 in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 108.9 in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 41.79 a year. A straight line explains 89% 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.

How it compares

In 2018, Korea, Rep. had the 3rd highest value of the 22 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 2018 ranking

• Czechia — 1st of 22: 2,186
• Japan — 3rd of 22: 524.29
• Slovak Republic — 4th of 22: 520.63
• Russian Federation — 5th of 22: 437.84

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 23 values

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

• Hong Kong SAR, China — 315.8 (2018)
• Japan — 524.29 (2018)
• Macao SAR, China — 182.46 (2018)
• Malaysia — 233.44 (2018)
• New Zealand — 1,276 (2017)
• Singapore — 377.37 (2017)
• Thailand — 296.94 (2017)

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

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Questions people ask

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

1,311 in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 109.79% from 625.12 in 1996 (3.43% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1,311 in 2018 and the lowest 446.78 in 2001.

How does Korea, Rep. rank?

3rd highest of 22 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in technicians in R&D (per million people) unusual for Korea, Rep.?

In 2018, Korea, Rep.'s technicians in R&D (per million people) rose 60.33 on 2017 (from 1,251 to 1,311). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2017), the average change was +29.81 and a typical year strayed about 60.67 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

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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