NSB: U.S. Share of Global R & D Investments Declines

On January 15, 2020, the National Science Board (NSB) released the “2020 State of U.S. Science and Engineering” report detailing the data, trends, and global position of the U.S. science and engineering (S&E) enterprise. The report is part of the congressionally mandated, biennial “Science and Engineering Indicators,” which provides statistics on the U.S. and global S&E enterprise. According to the 2020 Indicators, the United States continues to perform the largest share of global research and development (R&D), award the largest number of S&E doctoral degrees, and produce significant shares of scientific publications worldwide. However, countries in East and Southeast Asia have heavily invested in research and development and S&E education resulting in an overall increase in S&E activity globally. This has resulted in a decline in the U.S. share of global R&D investments. “Our latest report shows the continued spread of S&E capacity across the globe, which is good for humanity because science is not a zero-sum game,” said NSB Chair Diane Souvaine. “However, it also means that where once the U.S. was the uncontested leader in S&E, we now are playing a less dominant role in many areas.” In 2017, the U.S. spent $548 billion on R&D, more than any other country. However, between 2000 and 2017, the U.S. global share of R&D declined from 37 to 25 percent. The share of R&D funded by th...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news