The global map of spending on research and development (R&D) within the OECD confirms a persistent gap: while Israel and South Korea sustain record levels of investment relative to the size of their economies, several Latin American economies in the bloc remain among the least intense. In 2022, the R&D intensity of the OECD area was 2.7% of GDP, with Israel and Korea at the top with approximately 6% and 5.2% of GDP, respectively. The United States and Japan are in the high group, around 3.5% and 3.4%, and Sweden remains one of the European leaders with just over 3%.
At the other extreme, the Latin American countries that are members of the OECD, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica, are among those with the lowest spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP. In Colombia, the country allocates around 0.3% of GDP to R&D, a level well below the bloc’s average and which the Government seeks to increase with instruments such as tax credits and royalties aimed at innovation.
The most recent figures available for the other laggards confirm the gap. Costa Rica is around 0.34% of GDP, Mexico is around 0.3% and Chile is around 0.36%, all well below the OECD average and the leaders. Latvia, outside of Latin America but frequently cited among the lows, also remains below 1% of GDP.
The European contrast helps to measure the lag. The European Union averaged 2.26% of GDP in 2023, with countries such as Sweden, Belgium and Austria above 3%. The high intensity group tends to combine robust business spending with consistent long-term policies.
OECD evidence underlines that it is not just how much is invested, but how. Leaders concentrate a high proportion of financing in the business sector, supported by predictable incentive schemes and a mature innovation infrastructure. In Colombia, it is recommended to strengthen the instruments that mobilize private R&D, optimize tax credits, improve the regional targeting of resources and promote linkages between large and small companies, since low spending on research limits productivity gains and productive diversification.
In summary, the ranking disseminated on networks, with Israel, Korea, Sweden, the United States and Japan at the top; and Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Latvia below, is consistent with the official statistical bases. The exact positions may vary depending on the most recent year available for each country, but the structural gap between both groups remains clear. For Latin America within the OECD, closing this gap requires increasing investment, improving its composition in favor of the private sector and consolidating stable policies that reduce R&D budget volatility.
