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Korea – R&D Spending

Gross domestic expenditure on research and development as a share of GDP. Covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. · World Bank
5.21% +0.30% from 2021 G20 rank: 2nd · all-time high: 5.21% (2022)

APA

Korea R&D Spending. HistorySaid. Retrieved March 10, 2026, from https://historysaid.com/korea/rd-spending

BibTeX

@misc{historysaid_korea_rd-spending,
  title = {Korea R&D Spending},
  url = {https://historysaid.com/korea/rd-spending},
  publisher = {HistorySaid},
  year = {2026}
}
Data & Projection
YearValueChangeRank
2025* trend 5.65%
2022 5.21% +0.30% 2nd
2021 4.91% +0.11% 2nd
2020 4.80% +0.17% 2nd
2019 4.63% +0.11% 3rd
2018 4.52% +0.22% 2nd
2017 4.29% +0.31% 2nd
2016 3.99% +0.01% 2nd
2015 3.98% −0.10% 2nd
2014 4.08% +0.13% 2nd
2013 3.95% +0.10% 2nd
Show all years (1996–2022)
* Linear trend extrapolation from last 5 data points
Detected Pattern
Export Boom Cycle
Current account surplus with strong export growth (>15% YoY), reserve accumulation, and moderate GDP growth. Typical of commodity exporters during price surges.
Reserves YoY +13.6% GDP growth 5.2% C/A balance 0.2%
This pattern occurred 682 times in G20 history, 460 successful
Reserves YoY
+25.6%
GDP growth
4.0%
C/A balance
14.5%
Reserves YoY
+14.6%
GDP growth
3.7%
C/A balance
2.9%
Reserves YoY
+12.6%
GDP growth
6.0%
C/A balance
0.5%
Reserves YoY
+38.3%
GDP growth
5.0%
C/A balance
1.2%
Reserves YoY
+18.0%
GDP growth
2.9%
C/A balance
3.9%
Reserves YoY
+20.1%
GDP growth
2.8%
C/A balance
3.3%
HistorySaid – pattern alert

Korea matched the Export Boom Cycle pattern in 2006. Historically, 67% of countries showing this pattern (460 out of 682) saw r&d spending improve within 24 months. View full analysis →