National spending on civilian research and development (R&D) in Israel totaled NIS 25.6 billion in 2004. As a proportion of GDP, this was 4.6%, down from 4.7% in 2003, and 4.8% in 2002, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday.
75% of spending on civilian R&D was by the business sector. Spending by the business sector on R&D rose by 2% at fixed prices in 2004. Much of the rise was in software services. Government spending on civilian R&D fell 6%.
Israel is ranked first in the world for civilian R&D spending as a proportion of GDP. In second place is Sweden, with R&D spending amounting to 4.1% of GDP.
In third place is Finland (3.4%), followed by Iceland (3.1%), and Japan (3.1%).
In 2004, Germany spent 2.5% of its GDP on civilian R&D, the US 2.2%, France 2.1%, Britain 1.7%, Canada 1.6%, and Australia 1.5%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 10, 2005