Upper middle income: Researchers in R&D (per million people)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Upper middle income's researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 243 on 2020 (from 1,233 to 1,476).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +38.62 and a typical year strayed about 93.93 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 243 in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 306.89 in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 52.09 a year. A straight line explains 75% 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.

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 22 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 Upper middle income

• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 11 (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 10.76 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 48,207 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 1.39 billion (2023)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count — 60,717 (2024)
• Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 884,044 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents — 248,354 (2024)
• Patent applications, residents — 1.71 million (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions

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 Upper middle income's researchers in R&D (per million people)?

1,476 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 220.59% from 460.27 in 2000 (5.7% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1,476 in 2021 and the lowest 460.27 in 2000.

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

In 2021, Upper middle income's researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 243 on 2020 (from 1,233 to 1,476). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +38.62 and a typical year strayed about 93.93 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

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.