Gross domestic R&D expenditure on health (health GERD) as a % of gross domestic product (GDP)

Published: January 2018

The gross domestic expenditure on R&D in the health and medical sciences (health GERD) are collected from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The gross domestic product (GDP) data are collected from the World Bank. Data on this indicator are reported using the most recent available data since 2010 by country. (Note: not all countries have reported data on this indicator.)

See also:

Gross domestic R&D expenditure on health (health GERD) as a % of total GERD

What you see | Data sources | Current version

What you see

The data visualization compares health GERD by country as a % of GDP. Regional weighted averages are provided by WHO region and country income groups (top charts).

Points to note:
  • The weighted regional averages are derived from the 68 countries for which data are available. They need to be interpreted cautiously because of the number of missing observations.
  • The regional average health GERD as a % of GDP is 3.5 times more, on average, for Africa and the Western Pacific region (0.07%) than for any of the other regions for the reported period and countries (from 0.04% to 0.02%). (Top left)
  • The average health GERD as a % of GDP was substantially higher in high income countries (0.19%) than other income groupings, but higher in low income countries (0.06%) than upper middle (0.02 and lower middle (0.01) income countries (Top left).

To explore by country estimates and differences with regional averages (the regional average is symbolized by vertical dashed line):

  • Select a region and/or income group in the top charts to filter countries according to those categories.
    -- For example, clicking on the Eastern Mediterranean group (in the top left chart), shows that Qatar allocated 0.13% of its GDP to health GERD in the reported year; 6.5 times the regional average (0.02%). Countries in the same income group allocated 1.4 times more of their GDP to health GERD (hover on the dashed line next to Qatar).

  • To see countries belonging to a particular income group within a region: after selecting a region (in the top left chart), select an income group (in the top right chart) which will filter the countries belonging to this income group within this region.
    -- For example, selecting the low income group within Africa shows that the health GERD as a % of GDP for Mozambique (0.10%) and Uganda (0.09%) are both above (see vertical dashed line at the 0.06% mark in the bottom chart) regional (0.07%) and income group (0.06%) averages.

  • Hover the cursor on a bar in a graphic to see more information in a popup window (year, total GERD in local currency, health GERD in local currency (with health GERD as % of GDP), GDP, regional/income level averages).

  • Undo a selection by clicking ‘undo’ or ‘reset’ near the bottom of the visualization or by clicking the same element again.