Israel
In 2016, Israel’s national civilian R&D expenditures grew 2.3% to total NIS 52 billion ($14.4 billion), or 4.3% of the nation’s GDP. This indicates a steady trend of growing R&D in the region, following a 6.1% increase in 2015 and 1.3% growth in 2014. In 2015, Israel’s R&D expenditure was 4.3% of its GDP, the highest among all OECD member countries.
The largest contributor to total national R&D expenditure was the business sector, which accounted for 86%, or NIS 44 billion ($12.2 billion), in 2016. The establishment of development centers for multinational companies has helped drive the R&D expenditure growth in the business sector, which grew 2.4% in 2016.
Within the business sector, scientific R&D spending, including spending by startups, international R&D centers, technological incubators and research institutes, jumped 4.4% at constant prices in 2015. The same year, spending for the additional development of multinational companies’ centers in Israel totaled NIS 22.3 billion ($6.2 billion), an 8% rise, with all R&D conducted at these centers intended for use overseas.
Higher education represented 12% of total R&D expenditure in 2016, while the general government and nonprofit sectors made up the remaining 2% and 1%, respectively. R&D expenditures within the general government sector grew 3.5% in 2016, while higher education R&D expenditures increased 1.0%. Private nonprofit institutions’ R&D expenditures expanded 5.9%.
In 2015, the business sector funded 34% of all R&D expenditures in Israel, while international sources financed 52% of expenditures, which were mostly allocated to the business sector. Through transfers to higher education institutions and self-financing, the general government sector made up 13%, while higher education institutions themselves and private nonprofit institutions represented 0.4% and 1% , respectively.
