HC Deb 15 February 1989 vol 147 c247W
69. Mr. Worthington

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development countries spend a greater proportion of gross domestic product on civil research and development than the United Kingdom.

Mr. Forth

The available information is for 1985 and relates to gross expenditure on research and development (R&D), excluding R&D for defence purposes funded by national defence ministries as a percentage of gross domestic product. This showed that the following countries spent a greater proportion than the United Kingdom in 1985.

  1. Federal Republic of Germany
  2. Japan
  3. Netherlands
  4. Sweden
  5. Switzerland
  6. United States

Thirteen other OECD member countries spent a smaller proportion than the United Kingdom.