The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has launched its 2025 Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D) Statistics, with data collection for the reference year 2024. This survey gathers data to support the global monitoring of SDG Target 9.5, which focuses on fostering innovation and advancing research capacity worldwide.

The survey has been distributed to 124 UNESCO Member States and Territories, for which the UIS is responsible for data collection. For other countries, data will be obtained from regional partners such as Eurostat, the OECD, and RICYT.

As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries have committed to “building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.” SDG Target 9.5 specifically calls on nations to substantially increase the number of researchers and public and private investment in R&D. The UIS, as the custodian agency for this target, produces two key indicators to track progress:

In addition, the UIS produces a set of selected other policy-relevant R&D indicators, including gender-disaggregated data.

The indicators produced through this survey will be made available in 2026 via the UIS Data Browser and the UIS Bulk Data Download Service (BDDS). These indicators will also be included in the United Nations' Global SDG Indicators Database and cited in various global reports and indices, including the UNESCO Science Report and the UN SDG Report.

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