The growth in the number of researchers in developing countries is outpacing that in developed countries, according to the latest Science and Technology Survey by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. The Survey also indicates that R&D spending by developing countries is growing faster than in developed countries due in part to rapid R&D growth among a certain set of countries.

UNESCO defines developed countries as those in: North America and Western Europe; Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Belarus, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey); and Australia, Bermuda, Japan and New Zealand. Developing countries are defined as countries in: the Arab States; East Asia and the Pacific (excluding Australia, Japan and New Zealand); South and West Asia; Latin America and the Caribbean (excluding Bermuda); and Sub-Saharan Africa. The Survey was conducted in 2008 and included data from 149 developing countries, as well as from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Eurostat and the Latin American Network on Science and Technology Indicators.

The total number of researchers worldwide has increased 22.8% from 2002 to 2007 to 7.1 million. Researchers are defined as “professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems and also in the management of the projects concerned.” The number of researchers in developing countries increased the fastest over the five-year period, rising 56.1% to 2.7 million. The number of researchers in less-developed countries also grew in double digits, increasing 20.7% to 35,000. As a result, the developed world’s share of the total number of researchers has declined from 70% to 62% during the period, while the developing world’s share has increased from 30% to 38%.

By region, Asia accounts for the highest share of researchers worldwide. Between 2002 and 2007, the number of researchers in Asia rose 42.8% to 2.9 million. The increase in the region’s number of researchers was led by China, where the number of researchers increased 75.6% to 1.4 million, and by the Newly Industrialized Economies of Asia (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Singapore), where the number rose 46.8% to 428,000. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of researchers increased 54.3% between 2002 and 2007 to 257,000. In this region, the number of Brazilian researchers rose 64.7% to 118,000, and the number in Argentina increased 48.3% to 38,000. This compares to a 6.2% increase in US researchers to 1.4 million, a 7% increase in German researchers to 284,000, and a 9.8% rise in Japanese researchers to 710,000.

Measured in terms of the Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD) per researcher, and calculated in terms of purchase power parity, developing countries again showed the fastest growth. From 2002 to 2007, GERD per researcher in developing countries increased 30.0%, compared to 21.8% in developed countries, and 21.3% in less-developed nations. However, in developed nations, the average GERD per researcher was $197,700, far exceeding the average GERD per researcher of $101,200 in developing countries and $49,200 in less-developed countries. Nonetheless, rapid growth in certain countries and regions indicates a shift in resources, as the GERD per researcher jumped 57.0% over the five-year period in the Community of Independent States in Europe and 56.4% in the Community of Independent States in Asia. Two of the countries for which information was available that had the largest five-year increase in GERD per researcher were China, where it grew 51.4% to $73,700, and South Africa, where it rose 39.8% to $221,900. Other countries for which information was available with GERD per researcher of more than $200,000 were: Germany ($245,100), the US ($244,600), the UK ($215,000) and Japan ($207,900).

Change is also evident in the shifting world share of GERD from 2002 to 2007. The developing world’s share of GERD rose from 17% in 2002 to 24% five years later. In contrast, the developed world’s share of GERD fell from 83% to 76% over the same period. In total, world GERD increased 44.3% to $1,137 million, as developed countries’ total GERD increased 32.3% to $653 million, and developing countries’ total GERD more than doubled, rising 102.9% to $272 million.

Chart: Regional Distribution of Researchers, 2007

Americas 25.8%

Europe 28.4%

Africa 2.3%

Asia 41.4%

Oceania 2.1%

Chart: Share of GERD in Asia, 2007

2007

Japan 147.6

China 104.9

Israel 8.8

India 24.8

Community of Indep. States in Asia & Arab States in Asia 2.2

Newly Industrialized Econ. in Asia 72.9

Other in Asia (excl. Japan, China, India, Israel) 10.5

Chart: Number of Researchers

2002 2007

Other Asia (excl. Japan, China, India, Israel) 139.3 177.6

Latin America and the Caribbean 310.4 449.6

Newly Industrialized Econ. Asia 732.3 1,007.1

China 629.1 1,071.3

Central, Eastern and Other Europe 920.7 1,164.5