Research funding spans business laboratories, universities, government agencies, nonprofits, and international research systems. The figures below show how spending and budget authority changed across measured years, with amounts reported in millions or thousands of dollars as specified by each source.
Contents
- U.S. research spending
- Who performs U.S. R&D
- International research intensity
- Federal research obligations
- NIMH grant activity
- NIMH budget categories
- NIH-wide funding
U.S. research spending
The National Science Foundation’s NSB-2024-6, Table RD-1, reports U.S. all-performing-sector R&D expenditures of $406,599 million in 2010. The reported amount was $426,214 million in 2011, $433,698 million in 2012, and $454,232 million in 2013. It reached $475,938 million in 2014 and $494,470 million in 2015.
The same series records $521,686 million in 2016 and $553,612 million in 2017. Expenditures were $604,028 million in 2018, $665,557 million in 2019, and $716,870 million in 2020. The series then shows $789,072 million in 2021 and $885,563 million in 2022.
These are nominal expenditure figures reported for the United States and measured by calendar year in the table. They describe total R&D performed across sectors, rather than a single grant program or agency appropriation.
| Year | U.S. all-performing-sector R&D expenditures |
|---|---|
| 2010 | $406,599 million |
| 2015 | $494,470 million |
| 2020 | $716,870 million |
| 2022 | $885,563 million |
Source: [NSF NSB-2024-6, Table RD-1] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
Who performs U.S. R&D
The NSF table separates spending by performing sector. U.S. business R&D expenditures were $278,977 million in 2010, $355,821 million in 2015, $543,220 million in 2020, and $692,748 million in 2022. Business therefore represented the largest reported performing-sector category in each of those selected years.
Federal government R&D expenditures were $50,798 million in 2010 and $52,847 million in 2015. The reported amounts were $65,093 million in 2020 and $73,338 million in 2022. These figures describe federal government performance of R&D in the sector table, which is distinct from federal obligations to performers.
Higher education R&D expenditures were $58,083 million in 2010, $64,604 million in 2015, $80,823 million in 2020, and $91,451 million in 2022. Nonprofit organizations’ R&D expenditures were $18,050 million in 2010, $20,604 million in 2015, $27,053 million in 2020, and $27,329 million in 2022.
| Performing sector | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $278,977m | $355,821m | $543,220m | $692,748m |
| Federal government | $50,798m | $52,847m | $65,093m | $73,338m |
| Higher education | $58,083m | $64,604m | $80,823m | $91,451m |
| Nonprofit organizations | $18,050m | $20,604m | $27,053m | $27,329m |
Source: [NSF NSB-2024-6, Table RD-1] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
International research intensity
The OECD MSTI Highlights, March 2024, reports that OECD-area R&D expenditure growth was 4% in 2022. The comparable reported growth for 2021 was 6.1%, after revision from 4.9%. OECD-area GDP growth was 2.9% in 2022, while OECD-area R&D intensity reached 2.7% of GDP.
R&D intensity differs substantially across the economies listed in the OECD summary. EU27 R&D intensity was 2.1% of GDP in 2022. Israel’s was 6% of GDP, and Korea’s was 5.2% of GDP. These percentages refer to the 2022 measurement year and should not be read as dollar funding totals.
The OECD-area business-sector share of GERD was 74% in 2022, compared with 66% for the EU27. GERD is the gross domestic expenditure on R&D measure used in the source. The business share indicates the portion of that measure associated with the business sector, not the total value of all business R&D worldwide.
R&D growth in 2022 was reported as 5.0% for the United States, 4.9% for Japan, and 8.9% for Korea. The OECD’s SwiFTBeRD measure reported nominal business R&D growth of 13.6% in 2022 and 6.8% in 2023. The 2023 figure is a later measurement period than the other country and intensity figures in this section.
| Measure | Reported value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| OECD-area R&D intensity | 2.7% of GDP | 2022 |
| EU27 R&D intensity | 2.1% of GDP | 2022 |
| Israel R&D intensity | 6% of GDP | 2022 |
| Korea R&D intensity | 5.2% of GDP | 2022 |
| OECD business-sector share of GERD | 74% | 2022 |
| EU27 business-sector share of GERD | 66% | 2022 |
Source: [OECD MSTI Highlights, March 2024] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
Federal research obligations
The NSF Federal R&D Obligations InfoBrief reports that U.S. federal R&D obligations increased 4.4% in fiscal year 2024. Federal R&D obligations had fallen 2.3% in fiscal year 2023 before the reported rebound in FY 2024. These are fiscal-year obligation changes, not calendar-year R&D expenditures.
Five federal R&D agencies accounted for 93% of the federal-wide R&D portfolio in FY 2024. Together, those five agencies accounted for $181.4 billion of federal-wide R&D obligations in that fiscal year. The concentration statistic describes the federal-wide portfolio and does not assign the full amount to one scientific field.
The distinction between obligations and expenditures matters when comparing the federal figures with the NSF all-performing-sector series. Obligations record federal commitments in the stated fiscal year, while the all-performing-sector figures are expenditures reported for calendar years. The measures answer related but different questions about research funding.
Source: [NSF Federal R&D Obligations InfoBrief] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
NIMH grant activity
The National Institute of Mental Health FY 2024 Budget Fact Sheet says that NIMH annually supports more than 3,000 research grants and contracts. In FY 2022, NIMH awarded grants to 98 unique early-stage investigators and to 209 investigators with no other NIH research funding.
NIMH awarded 673 new and competing research project grants in FY 2022. Its estimated application success rate for that fiscal year was 24%. Because the source identifies this as an estimated success rate, it should be interpreted as an estimate for FY 2022 rather than a guaranteed award probability for later applications.
The NIMH Intramural Research Program supported approximately 600 scientists. The word “approximately” is part of the source’s description and signals that this is a rounded staffing figure. The NIMH FY 2024 President’s Budget request was $2.5 billion.
Together, these figures describe several dimensions of research support: an annual portfolio of more than 3,000 grants and contracts, targeted awards to early-stage and previously unfunded investigators, competing project grants, an estimated application success rate, intramural scientists, and a budget request.
Source: [NIMH FY 2024 Budget Fact Sheet] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
NIMH budget categories
The NIMH FY 2024 Budget Congressional Justification reports that NIMH research project grants rose from $1,618,454 thousand in FY 2023 to $1,745,508 thousand in FY 2024. Competing research project grants rose from $445,380 thousand to $520,020 thousand over the same fiscal-year comparison.
NIMH SBIR/STTR funding rose from $72,341 thousand in FY 2023 to $79,544 thousand in FY 2024. Research centers rose from $93,415 thousand to $137,327 thousand, while other research rose from $119,297 thousand to $140,550 thousand.
For FY 2024, research training funding was $46,540 thousand, R&D contracts were $120,594 thousand, intramural research funding was $241,613 thousand, and research management and support funding was $109,522 thousand.
| NIMH category | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Research project grants | $1,618,454 thousand | $1,745,508 thousand |
| Competing research project grants | $445,380 thousand | $520,020 thousand |
| SBIR/STTR funding | $72,341 thousand | $79,544 thousand |
| Research centers | $93,415 thousand | $137,327 thousand |
| Other research | $119,297 thousand | $140,550 thousand |
NIMH total budget authority rose from $2,341,653 thousand in FY 2023 to $2,541,653 thousand in FY 2024. NIMH full-time employees rose from 589 to 597 across the same fiscal-year comparison. The staffing figures are head counts, while the budget figures are reported in thousands of dollars.
Source: [NIMH FY 2024 Budget Congressional Justification] (source label supplied with the reported figures).
NIH-wide funding
The NIH Overall Appropriations FY 2024 figures show NIH discretionary budget authority rising from $47,624,553 thousand in FY 2023 to $48,900,015 thousand in FY 2024. NIH total budget authority rose from $47,766,003 thousand to $49,150,015 thousand.
NIH total program level rose from $49,178,485 thousand in FY 2023 to $51,098,124 thousand in FY 2024. Total program level and total budget authority are separate measures in the source, so they should remain distinct when describing the NIH funding picture.
Pandemic preparedness mandatory funding was $2,690,000 thousand in FY 2024. NIH ARPA-H funding rose from $1,500,000 thousand in FY 2023 to $2,500,000 thousand in FY 2024. These amounts are reported as specific funding lines within the FY 2024 appropriations figures.
The federal, NIH, and NIMH numbers therefore cover different levels of the research funding system. Federal obligations describe commitments across the federal portfolio; NIH appropriations describe a major health-research agency; and NIMH budget categories describe one institute’s programs, staffing, and support mechanisms.
Source: [NIH Overall Appropriations FY 2024] (source label supplied with the reported figures).