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Research Funding

A look at R&D spending plans across the globe

Calls for more spending on science and technology are common worldwide

by Aayushi Pratap
January 10, 2025 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 103, Issue 1

 

Eight students in a lab.
Credit: Shutterstock
Scientific research programs will encounter funding uncertainty as governments worldwide set new budgets.

The US is not the only country facing uncertainty over government funding for science. Here is a look at science and technology spending in other major nations and regions.

India

In 2024, the Indian government allocated $1.9 billion to the Ministry of Science and Technology, a jump of 31% over the previous year. Still, the country’s spending on research and development is low compared with that of wealthier countries. And in previous years, the ministry didn’t distribute all the funding at its disposal. A statement by an Indian nonprofit, Breakthrough Science Society, highlights a concurrent lack of private funding. Meanwhile, a recent increase in customs duties for laboratory chemicals, from 10% to 150%, has hurt the research community, the nonprofit says.

China

The Chinese government ramped up its spending on science and technology last year. In March 2024, the government said it would invest $52 billion in 2024, a 10% increase from 2023, according to Nature. The increase in funding came in a year in which the US established several anti-China economic policies; initial signs are that the incoming Trump administration will ratchet up the competition with China in the year ahead.

European Union

The European Commission had set a $14 billion budget for research and innovation (R&I) for 2024, including $13 billion for Horizon Europe—the European Union’s 7-year R&I funding program, which started in 2021. Horizon Europe has a total budget of $97 billion for 2021–27. But a report by a group established by the commission to advise on R&D expenditures says the EU’s overall R&I budget needs to double in the 2028–34 funding period for the EU to become competitive. The report also calls for greater cooperation globally.

United Kingdom

The UK government announced an investment of nearly $25 billion in research and development for 2025, with a significant portion—$656 million—dedicated to the UK’s life sciences sector. The funding will also support the UK’s association with Horizon Europe. Tanya Sheridan, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s head of policy and evidence, welcomes the investment, adding that the association is awaiting more details. “We strongly believe that continued support for research, development, and innovation is essential for growth as it drives productivity, creates jobs, boosts economic growth and raises living standards, benefitting individuals and communities across the UK, even while we recognise that difficult decisions needed to be made with the public finances,” she says in a press statement.

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