Source: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, calculations; OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators 2023/1

Notes:
¹⁾ Some figures are revised, provisional, estimated, differently defined or only partly comparable with figures from previous years (see original edition of "Main Science and Technology Indicators 2023/1").
²⁾ PNP: private non-profit institutions.
³⁾ Until 1990, western German Länder only. As of 2016, increases of expenditure on higher education are partly due to an methodological adjustment of the R&D coefficients.
⁴⁾ As of 1997, higher education sector including university hospitals. In 2011, a new method for calculating the time spent on R&D by staff in the higher education sector was introduced. As a result, R&D personnel (measured in FTE) in the higher education sector decreased.
⁵⁾ As of 2014, R&D personnel in university hospitals are better identified, leading to a break in the time series of the higher education sector.
⁶⁾ As of 2013, time series break because part of personnel data were reallocated from the category technical and other personnel to the category researchers. Until 2006, data correspond to higher education graduates instead of researchers. As of 2005, government sector excludes R&D personnel from the county councils.
⁷⁾ For the years from 2018 onwards, estimates for R&D personnel in the Business enterprise sector were significantly revised by the United Kingdom. These changes reflect an uplift recalibration to account for under-sampled businesses performing R&D. Revised estimates for R&D personnel in the business sector for 2018-2020 have not been included in the OECD database for the time being in order to check their relevance.
⁸⁾ Until 2019, the OECD estimated the total number of researchers as no official data were available for various employment sectors. As of 2020, the United States resumed reporting on R&D personnel statistics. The new data correct previous OECD estimates downward, as OECD extrapolation methods apparently overestimated the growth of the number of researchers in the higher education sector before.

m = data not available.

Last update: October 12, 2023