The provided bar charts delineate the percentage of Research and Development (R&D) expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) across various regions and income levels for the years 2017 and 2021.
Overall, there was a discernible increase in R&D spending percentage from 2017 to 2021, with significant variations between regions and income classifications.
Examining the regional data, Northern America exhibited the highest proportion of R&D expenditure in GDP, escalating from 2.8% in 2017 to 3.2% in 2021. Eastern Asia followed, with a rise from 2.5% to 2.7% during the same period. In contrast, both Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrated relatively minimal increases, with figures of 0.4% and 0.6% in 2021, up from 0.35% and 0.55% respectively. Europe and Oceania registered moderate increases, standing at 2.0% and 1.8% in 2021, incrementally rising from 1.85% and 1.7% in 2017.
When analyzed by income levels, high-income countries allocated the highest R&D expenditure in 2021 at 2.4%, despite a decrease from 2.7% in 2017. Upper middle-income countries experienced a slight escalation from 1.5% to 1.7%, whereas middle-income countries revealed a decline from 1.2% to 1.0%. Lower middle-income and low-income countries exhibited similarly slight increases, with R&D expenditure at 0.45% and 0.2% in 2021, respectively, showing minor changes from 0.5% and 0.25% in 2017.