The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is pleased to announce the launch of its 2024 Survey of Research and Development (R&D) Statistics. This survey collects data to support the global monitoring of SDG Target 9.5.

The survey is sent to 124 UNESCO Member States and Territories for which the UIS is responsible for data collection. Data for other countries is collected in partnership with regional organizations.

As part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030, SDG Target 9.5calls upon countries to enhance scientific research, encourage innovation, and substantially increase the number of R&D workers, as well as public and private R&D spending. The UIS, as the custodian agency, collects data and produces two key indicators to monitor progress towards these SDG targets:

SDG 9.5.1:R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP

SDG 9.5.2:Researchers (in full-time equivalent) per million inhabitants

Additionally, the UIS produces a set of selected gender-disaggregated R&D indicators.

The UIS will release the indicators produced from this survey in 2025 through its Data Browser and the UIS Bulk Data Download Service (BDDS).These indicators will also be included in the Global SDG Indicators Database and UN SDG publications and analysis.

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