Montreal, 18 March 2026 — The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has released its 2026 update on Research and Development (R&D) statistics, strengthening global monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 9.5 on enhancing scientific research and upgrading technological capabilities. The release includes new or updated country-level data for 43 countries, based on the UIS 2025 R&D Statistics Survey and partner contributions, including the Ibero-American Network of Science and Technology Indicators (RICYT).
As the custodian agency for SDG 9.5, the UIS produces two core global indicators: SDG 9.5.1 (R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP) and SDG 9.5.2 (researchers in full-time equivalent per million inhabitants). The 2026 release provides updated regional averages and time series data, along with gender-disaggregated R&D indicators that support cross-cutting analysis related to SDG 5 on gender equality.
Global R&D Investment: Growth with Persistent Disparities
Global investment in R&D has grown steadily over the past decade. R&D expenditure increased from 1.71% of global GDP in 2015 to 1.92% in 2023. However, major regional disparities remain stark.
| Region | R&D as % of GDP (2023) | Researchers per million (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Europe and Northern America | 2.55% | 4,358 |
| Eastern and South-Eastern Asia | 2.42% | — |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.38% | 88 |
| Global average | 1.92% | 1,486 |
Europe and Northern America reported the highest levels of investment at 2.55% of GDP, followed by Eastern and South-Eastern Asia at 2.42%. In contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa's R&D spending stands at just 0.38% of GDP — less than one-sixth the level of the leading regions and well below the African Union's own target of 1% of GDP, reaffirmed in the STISA-2034 blueprint adopted in November 2024.
Researchers Worldwide: Progress but Uneven Distribution
The global research workforce has expanded significantly. The number of researchers rose from 1,141 per million inhabitants in 2015 to 1,486 in 2023. However, the distribution remains deeply uneven.
Europe and Northern America recorded 4,358 researchers per million inhabitants, while Sub-Saharan Africa reported only 88 researchers per million — a ratio of nearly 50:1. This gap reflects not only differences in investment but also in educational infrastructure, retention of scientific talent, and the capacity of national research systems to absorb and employ trained researchers.
Women in Research: Slow Progress Toward Parity
Gender disparities in research continue despite gradual progress. Women represented 31.4% of researchers globally in 2023, a modest increase from 29.5% in 2013 — a gain of just 1.9 percentage points over a decade.
Some regions are approaching parity. Central Asia, Northern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean each report women accounting for around 45% of researchers. However, the global average is pulled down by regions where women remain significantly underrepresented.
The SDG 9.5 Framework
SDG 9.5 commits Member States to enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries — particularly developing countries — and encourage innovation. The two indicators tracked by UIS provide the most widely cited global benchmarks for measuring progress toward this goal.
The 2026 release is particularly significant because it provides the most recent comprehensive picture of global R&D investment before the 2030 SDG deadline. With four years remaining, the data suggests that the world is not on track to close the R&D investment gap between developed and developing regions. The increase from 1.71% to 1.92% of global GDP over eight years represents progress, but it is driven primarily by already-investing regions, while the countries most in need of research capacity remain far behind.
Data Access and Methodology
The February 2026 UIS R&D data is accessible through multiple platforms:
- The UIS Data Browser — an interactive online tool for exploring indicators
- The UIS Data API — for programmatic access to the full dataset
- The Bulk Data Download Service — for comprehensive data downloads
The release also includes a detailed background document explaining methodology, data sources, and caveats for interpretation. The UIS notes that R&D data is subject to reporting lags, with 2023 being the most recent year for which comprehensive global data is available.
Policy Implications
For policymakers in developing countries, the 2026 data release provides both a diagnostic and a call to action. The 0.38% R&D-to-GDP ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa, set against the African Union's 1% target, highlights the scale of the investment gap. The 88 researchers per million inhabitants in the region — compared to 4,358 in Europe and Northern America — quantifies the human capital dimension of that gap.
The gender data adds another dimension: with women representing just 31.4% of researchers globally and progress occurring at a rate that would delay parity by decades, interventions targeting the structural barriers women face in research careers — from funding biases to workplace culture to childcare infrastructure — require renewed urgency.
Sources
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, "2026 R&D Data Release," 18 March 2026,
- UIS Data Browser,
- UIS R&D Database Background Document (February 2026),
- African Union, STISA-2034 (adopted November 2024)
- United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,
FIRAT Editorial Board
Institutional Research Desk · Foresight Institute of Research and Translation
The collective editorial and research translation board of FIRAT, synthesising peer-reviewed evidence, policy briefs, and division milestones across our seven foundational research pillars.
