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, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | October 2020 |
| Federal R&D as a Percent of GDP, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | October 2020 |
| By Function: Defense and Nondefense R&D Outlays, 1953-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| By Function: Nondefense Outlays Only, 1953-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| R&D as a Percent of Discretionary Spending, 1962-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| R&D as a Percent of the Total Federal Budget, 1962-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| Federal R&D and Facilities Funding by Performer, 1967-2018 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| U.S. Global Change Research Program Budget | JPG | Excel | June 2016 |
| National Nanotechnology Initiative Budget | JPG | Excel | September 2019 |
| Networking and IT R&D Program Budget | JPG | Excel | September 2019 |
By Agency
| Series | Chart | Data | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total R&D by Agency, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | October 2020 |
| Trends in Defense R&D, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | October 2020 |
| Dept. of Defense Science, Tech, and Medical Research, 1990-2020 |
PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| Dept. of Defense R&D by Military Department, 1991-2020 | PNG | Excel | October 2020 |
| National Institutes of Health Budget by Institute, 1990-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| Dept. of Energy R&D, 1990-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| NASA Budget, 2000-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| National Science Foundation Budget, 1990-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| Dept. of Agriculture Research Offices, 1990-2020 | PNG | Excel | May 2020 |
| Dept. of Commerce Budgets and R&D, 1990-2020 | PNG | Excel | June 2020 |
| Dept. of Homeland Security R&D, 2002-2020 | PNG | Excel | July 2020 |
By Character
| Series | Chart | Data | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Research by Agency, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | July 2020 |
| Basic Research by Agency, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | July 2020 |
| Applied Research by Agency, 1976-2020 | PNG | Excel | July 2020 |
| Development by Agency, 2000-2018 | JPG | Excel | June 2019 |
By Discipline
| Series | Chart | Data | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Research Funding by Discipline, 1970-2017 | JPG | Excel | June 2019 |
| See also the R&D by Discipline page on this site. |
National Totals
| Series | Chart | Data | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| National R&D By Funder, 1953-2017 | JPG | Excel | June 2019 |
| National R&D By Funder (Share of Total) | JPG | ||
| National R&D By Performer, 1953-2017 | JPG | Excel | June 2019 |
| National R&D By Performer (Share of Total) | JPG | ||
| University S&E R&D Funding by Source, 1990-2017 | JPG | Excel | November 2018 |
| International R&D Intensity, 2000-2017 | JPG | Excel | August 2019 |
