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The latest data from
the National Science Foundation show that after stagnating in the early part of
the decade, total U.S. R&D grew in 2006for the fourth year in a row to reach
a new high of $343 billion in 2006. U.S. R&D (federal, industry, and other
funding sources) grew 6 percent between 2005 and 2006, buoyed by increases from
all funding sources. Because total R&D grew faster than the U.S. economy as
a whole in 2005 and 2006, the U.S. R&D / GDP ratio climbed for the second
year in a row in 2006 to 2.60 percent.
- April 25, 2007  
Industry
R&D in the U.S. AAAS does not collect data on R&D funded by industry.
Data on industrial R&D as part of the total U.S. R&D effort can be found in the
next section, below. Detailed surveys of industrial R&D are compiled by the National
Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics. Please refer
to their publications R&D
in Industry and National
Patterns of R&D Resources. The chart below shows that U.S. industrial
firms' support of R&D has increased over the past decade but has flattened
out over the past few years. Industry's support of R&D is heavily concentrated
in development, with far smaller investments in applied research and even smaller
investments in basic research. Over the past decade, industry support of development
has expanded the fastest, while basic research has barely kept pace with inflation.
The second chart shows that the largest R&D-performing industries are motor
vehicles, pharmaceuticals, software, and IT/electronics. Much of the recent growth
in industrial R&D has been in service industries; nonmanufacturing R&D
now accounts for 30 percent of all industry R&D. -
Chart. Trends in U.S. Industry R&D, 1991-2006 (4/07)
- Chart.
Industry-Funded R&D by Sector, 2006 (8/08) Total U.S. R&D (Industry
and Federal, 1953 - ) Detailed surveys of the total U.S. R&D effort
(federal, state, industry, nonprofits, and others) are compiled by the National
Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics. Please refer
to their publications Science and Engineering Indicators and National
Patterns of R&D Resources. The first table shows that total
U.S. R&D in 2006 is projected at $343 billion, a nearly $20 billion or 6 percent
increase over 2005. Nearly two-thirds of this total was funded by private industry.
-Table. Total U.S. R&D, 2004-2006 (4/07)
As shown in the chart below, total U.S. R&D has expanded dramatically in
the past four decades. In recent years, total U.S. R&D increased in the 1990s
because of substantial increases in R&D funding from industry; this decade, U.S.
R&D leveled off but is now increasing again. The chart shows that industry
has consistently expanded its share of total U.S. R&D; as recently as 1970, industry
funded a third of U.S. R&D; now, it funds two-thirds. -Chart.
U.S. R&D Funding by Source, 1953-2006 (4/07) - Data
Table The chart below shows U.S. R&D by performer. As performers, industry
is even more dominant. Not only does it perform nearly all of the R&D it funds,
industry is also a major performer of R&D with federal funds. 70 percent of U.S.
R&D is performed by industry. -Chart. U.S. R&D Funding
by Performer, 1953-2006 (4/07) - Data Table  In
2005 and 2006, total R&D grew faster than growth in the U.S. economy as a whole
as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). NSF estimates that total U.S.
R&D grew to 2.60 percent of GDP in 2006, down from a recent high of 2.74%
in 2001 but up for the second year in a row.
-Chart.
U.S. R&D as Percent of Gross Domestic Product, 1953-2006 (4/07) - Data
Table Total Basic Research (Industry and Federal) Total
U.S. basic research has grown steadily over the past decade, as shown in the chart
below, led by steady increases in federal support for biomedical basic research
in the NIH; growth in federal support accelerated begining in 1998 with the five-year
campaign to double the NIH budget. Industry and other support for basic research,
meanwhile, barely kept pace with inflation. - Chart.
U.S. Basic Research by Funding Source, 1991-2006 (4/07) - Data
Table
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