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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Ukraine's researchers in R&D (per million people) fell 187.99 on 2021 (from 774.07 to 586.08).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2021), the average change was −45.19 and a typical year strayed about 44.25 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 31.24 in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 187.99 in 2022. 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 downward, about 47.61 a year. A straight line explains 83% 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 563.56 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 67.91, against 145.09 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Ukraine in the 2022 ranking

• United States — 3rd of 8: 4,937
• Malaysia — 4th of 8: 1,218
• Chile — 5th of 8: 707.06
• South Africa — 7th of 8: 444.16
• Sri Lanka — 8th of 8: 94.49

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 17 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 Ukraine

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 1.43 million (2023)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 3.8 (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 50.33 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 133.38 (2023)
• Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports) — 25.74% (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 969 (2024)
• Individuals using the Internet (% of population) — 82.47% (2024)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$6.81 billion (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 42.82% (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 Ukraine's researchers in R&D (per million people)?

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

How has it changed since 2006?

It is down 59.63% from 1,452 in 2006 (5.51% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1,452 in 2006 and the lowest 586.08 in 2022.

Is the latest change in researchers in R&D (per million people) unusual for Ukraine?

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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