Post-demographic dividend: Researchers in R&D (per million people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Post-demographic dividend's researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 130.56 on 2021 (from 4,923 to 5,053).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2021), the average change was +79.23 and a typical year strayed about 54.17 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 242.51 in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 119.02 a year. A straight line explains 97% 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 5,269 for 2025. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2022 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 225.79, against 287.27 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.

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 27 values

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

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1,120 (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2,240 (2021)
• Iraq — 164.29 (2021)
• Kuwait — 144.75 (2024)
• Malta — 2,355 (2023)
• Oman — 739.41 (2024)
• Pakistan — 473.72 (2023)
• Tunisia — 1,668 (2024)

More infrastructure data for Post-demographic dividend

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 385.21 million (2022)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 35.97 (2022)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 17.87 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 122,852 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 2.02 billion (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.39 billion (2022)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 124.35 (2022)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 9.59% (2025)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Post-demographic dividend's researchers in R&D (per million people)?

5,053 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 71.77% from 2,942 in 1996 (2.1% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5,053 in 2022 and the lowest 2,942 in 1996.

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.

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