Panama: Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Panama's research and development expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.04 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.16% to 0.2%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2023), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.04 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above 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 0.1 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.1 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.00928 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 52% 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 2024, Panama had the 20th highest value of the 25 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 Panama in the 2024 ranking

• Moldova — 17th of 25: 0.22%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 18th of 25: 0.21%
• Azerbaijan — 19th of 25: 0.21%
• Kazakhstan — 21st of 25: 0.16%
• Burkina Faso — 22nd of 25: 0.1%
• Uzbekistan — 23rd of 25: 0.1%

What this measures

Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. 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. R&D totals from SNA accounts may differ from these estimates, due in part to the different treatments of software R&D in the totals.

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

All 29 values

Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 0.6% (2023)
• Bolivia — 0.06% (2021)
• Brazil — 1.19% (2023)
• Chile — 0.39% (2022)
• Colombia — 0.29% (2020)
• Costa Rica — 0.34% (2023)
• Cuba — 0.44% (2024)
• El Salvador — 0.1% (2023)
• Guatemala — 0.00609% (2023)
• Mexico — 0.25% (2024)

More infrastructure data for Panama

• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 123,804 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 143.67 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 15.75 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 6.98 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 156.59 (2023)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$501.33 million (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 2.48% (2025)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 774,060 (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 17.36 (2023)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Panama's research and development expenditure (% of GDP)?

0.2% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is down 0.14 percentage points from 0.33% in 1996. The highest value was 0.37% in 2000 and the lowest 0.06% in 2013.

How does Panama rank?

20th highest of 25 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in research and development expenditure (% of GDP) unusual for Panama?

In 2024, Panama's research and development expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.04 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.16% to 0.2%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2023), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.04 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS, 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.

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