Fastest-growing economies gaining rapidly on U.S.

For more than half a century, the United States has led the world in science and innovation. In today’s competitive world, the United States can no longer take its supremacy for granted. Aggregate R&D spending by six fast-growing economies (China, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) is on track to exceed U.S. spending in a few years.

As a share of 2004 total world R&D, the United States is the majority R&D investor followed by Japan and other developed, OECD countries. Emerging countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan have increased their gross R&D investments by about 178 percent, while the 34 United States increased its investment by 38 percent since 1995. China alone has tripled R&D funding during that same period.