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Historical Trends in Federal R&D

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The below charts and tables present a range of federal R&D data series, including federal research budgets by agency, character and discipline, and some national totals. Most data come from annual AAAS R&D budget reports. Additionally, some charts below rely on data collected by the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, and from the historical tables provided by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), via the President’s budget request. Constant-dollar conversions (adjusting for inflation) use OMB’s chained price index, found in historical table 10.1 from the most recent budget request. If you have any questions, or are looking for data you don’t see below, contact us.

For additional information and functionality, see the AAAS historical R&D budget dashboard.

NOTE: The federal definition of development has been revised. This impacts some data series below. For more, click here.


 

General Overview

Series Chart Data Last Update
Defense, Nondefense, and Total R&D, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Federal R&D as a Percent of GDP, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
By Function: Defense and Nondefense R&D Outlays, 1953-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
By Function: Nondefense Outlays Only, 1953-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
R&D as a Percent of Discretionary Spending, 1962-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
R&D as a Percent of the Total Federal Budget, 1962-2020 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Federal R&D and Facilities Funding by Performer, 1967-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
U.S. Global Change Research Program Budget PNG Excel Sept 2022
National Nanotechnology Initiative Budget PNG Excel Sept 2022
Networking and IT R&D Program Budget PNG Excel Sept 2022

 

By Agency

Series Chart Data Last Update
Total R&D by Agency, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Trends in Defense R&D, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Defense Science, Tech, and Medical Research,
1990-2023
PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Defense R&D by Military Department, 1991-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
National Institutes of Health Budget by Institute, 1990-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Energy R&D, 1990-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
NASA Budget, 2000-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
National Science Foundation Budget, 1990-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Agriculture Research Offices, 1990-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Commerce Budgets and R&D, 1990-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Dept. of Homeland Security R&D, 2002-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022

 

By Character

Series Chart Data Last Update
Total Research by Agency, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Basic Research by Agency, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Applied Research by Agency, 1976-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022
Development by Agency, 2000-2023 PNG Excel Sept 2022

 

By Discipline

Series Chart Data Last Update
Federal Research Funding by Discipline, 1970-2021 PNG Excel Sept 2022
See also the R&D by Discipline page on this site.

 

National Totals

Series Chart Data Last Update
National R&D By Funder, 1953-2020 PNG Excel Sept 2022
National R&D By Funder (Share of Total) PNG
National R&D By Performer, 1953-2020 PNG Excel Sept 2022
National R&D By Performer (Share of Total) PNG
University S&E R&D Funding by Source, 1990-2020 PNG Excel Sept 2022
International R&D Intensity, 2000-2021 PNG Excel Sept 2022

 

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