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Thailand – R&D Spending

Name: Thailand R&D Spending
Creator: World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Gross domestic expenditure on research and development as a share of GDP. Covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. · World Bank

1.16% −0.05% from 2021 G20 rank: 29th · all-time high: 1.33% (2020)

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{historysaid_thailand_rd-spending,
  title = {Thailand R&D Spending},
  url = {https://historysaid.com/thailand/rd-spending},
  publisher = {HistorySaid},
  year = {2026}
}

Data & Projection▾

Year	Value	Change	Rank
2025* trend	1.27%	–	–
2022	1.16%	−0.05%	29th
2021	1.21%	−0.12%	34th
2020	1.33%	+0.19%	31st
2019	1.14%	+0.03%	38th
2018	1.11%	+0.11%	33rd
2017	1.00%	+0.22%	37th
2016	0.78%	+0.16%	41st
2015	0.62%	+0.14%	51st
2014	0.48%	+0.04%	54th
2013	0.44%	+0.08%	58th
2011	0.36%	+0.13%	58th
2009	0.23%	+0.03%	70th
2008	0.20%	+0.00%	71st
2007	0.20%	−0.03%	71st
2006	0.23%	+0.01%	67th
2005	0.22%	−0.02%	72nd
2004	0.24%	−0.01%	72nd
2003	0.25%	+0.01%	71st
2002	0.23%	−0.02%	70th
2001	0.25%	+0.01%	62nd
2000	0.24%	−0.00%	56th
1999	0.25%	+0.15%	56th
1997	0.10%	−0.02%	64th
1996	0.12%	–	50th

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 +17.9% GDP growth 4.2% C/A balance 9.6%

This pattern occurred 682 times in G20 history, 460 successful

United Arab Emirates 2024

Reserves YoY

+25.6%

GDP growth

4.0%

C/A balance

14.5%

Guatemala 2024

Reserves YoY

+14.6%

GDP growth

3.7%

C/A balance

2.9%

Cambodia 2024

Reserves YoY

+12.6%

GDP growth

6.0%

C/A balance

0.5%

Sri Lanka 2024

Reserves YoY

+38.3%

GDP growth

5.0%

C/A balance

1.2%

Lesotho 2024

Reserves YoY

+18.0%

GDP growth

2.9%

C/A balance

3.9%

Lithuania 2024

Reserves YoY

+20.1%

GDP growth

2.8%

C/A balance

3.3%

HistorySaid

Thailand's r&d spending peaked at 1.33% in 2020. The 2022 reading of 1.16% is -12.7% below that level. Based on recent trends, HistorySaid estimates 1.27% by 2025.