Switzerland: Researchers in R&D (per million people)

Key figures

Since 1996 it is up 95.14% from 3,130 in 1996 (2.51% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 18 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2023, Switzerland had the 9th 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 Switzerland in the 2023 ranking

• Norway — 5th of 43: 7,451
• Austria — 6th of 43: 6,634
• Netherlands — 7th of 43: 6,563
• Belgium — 9th of 43: 5,990
• Portugal — 10th of 43: 5,983
• Iceland — 11th of 43: 5,953

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 10 values

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

• Austria — 6,634 (2023)
• Belgium — 5,990 (2023)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 705.16 (2024)
• Bulgaria — 2,401 (2023)
• Croatia — 2,440 (2023)
• Cyprus — 1,686 (2023)
• Czechia — 4,505 (2023)
• Denmark — 8,838 (2023)
• Estonia — 4,800 (2023)
• Finland — 8,315 (2023)

More infrastructure data for Switzerland

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 2.73 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 30.59 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 205,045 (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,258 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 27.73 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 11.55 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 129.47 (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$25.06 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 12.77% (2025)

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 Switzerland's researchers in R&D (per million people)?

6,108 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is up 95.14% from 3,130 in 1996 (2.51% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 6,108 in 2023 and the lowest 3,130 in 1996.

How does Switzerland rank?

9th highest of 43 economies with data for 2023.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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.

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.