The most commonly used indicator for comparison purposes is the ratio of expenditure on R&D to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As table 25.3 shows, in 1998-99 Australia's R&D expenditure was 1.50% of its GDP, ranking it below Japan (3.04%), Finland (2.89%), the United States (2.60%), Korea (2.55%), Germany (2.31%), France (2.18%), Iceland (2.04%), Netherlands (1.95%), the United Kingdom (1.83%) and Canada (1.71%).
In terms of business enterprise R&D, Australia's ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP (0.68%) is again below the ratios for the industrialised countries referred to earlier, and is also below the rate for the Czech Republic.
For government sector R&D as a percentage of GDP, Australia ranks higher. An R&D to GDP ratio of 0.35% places it fifth in the group of OECD member countries for which data are available, behind only Iceland (0.76%), Korea (0.45%), France (0.41%) and Finland (0.36%). Government sector R&D as a percentage of GDP is much higher for Australia than for the United States and Canada.
For the higher education sector, Australia also ranks highly. With an R&D to GDP ratio of 0.44%, Australia ranks behind only Finland (0.57%), Netherlands (0.53%), Iceland (0.51%), Japan (0.45%) and Canada (0.45%) among OECD countries.
25.3 EXPENDITURE ON R&D AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP, OECD Countries - 1998-99 |
|
Country | Business
% | Government
% | Higher education
% | Total(a)
% |
|
Japan | 2.17 | 0.28 | 0.45 | 3.04 |
Finland | 1.94 | 0.36 | 0.57 | 2.89 |
United States | 1.94 | 0.21 | 0.37 | 2.60 |
Korea | 1.79 | 0.45 | 0.28 | 2.55 |
Germany | 1.57 | 0.34 | 0.40 | 2.31 |
France | 1.36 | 0.41 | 0.38 | 2.18 |
Iceland | 0.75 | 0.76 | 0.51 | 2.04 |
Netherlands | 1.06 | 0.35 | 0.53 | 1.95 |
United Kingdom | 1.20 | 0.24 | 0.36 | 1.83 |
Canada | 1.03 | 0.22 | 0.45 | 1.71 |
Australia | 0.68 | 0.35 | 0.44 | 1.50 |
Czech Republic | 0.82 | 0.33 | 0.12 | 1.27 |
Italy | 0.55 | 0.22 | 0.25 | 1.02 |
Spain | 0.47 | 0.15 | 0.27 | 0.90 |
Poland | 0.30 | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.72 |
Hungary | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.17 | 0.68 |
|
(a) Includes private non-profit. |
Source: Main Science and Technology Indicators 2001-1, OECD, Paris, 2001. |