ARGENTINA410

0.2

BRAZIL1,270

0.2

CANADA

US133,780

1.1

THE SCIENTIFIC BALANCEOF POWER

Show us the money 6,320

0.6

Getting physicalThe US federal budget for R&D grew during the past decade, but biomedical research was the main beneficiary. Scientists in other disciplines have had to become resourceful in pursuing funding sources — a private donation was used to keep the nation’s largest nuclear-physics experiment running this year, for example.

Current funding shortfalls are a threat to US competitiveness, warns a panel of experts at the National Academies. But neglected physicists may be in for a treat. In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush promised to double funding for the physical sciences over the next ten years.

Lagging behindIn the populist political climate of Latin America, science is often seen as more of a privilege than a priority. In Brazil, for example, a major block of funding for research was frozen last year to satisfy foreign creditors. And after several years of strong recovery in Argentina’s R&D budget, funding is set to fall slightly this year, in favour of other priorities, including the national debt and infrastructure projects.

Nevertheless, specific initiatives are moving forward in both countries. Last April, Argentina unveiled a five-year, US$10-million nanotechnology fund, and in September, Brazil revealed plans for a US$5-million stem-cell research initiative.

The world’s most advanced economies are losing their scientific edge, some analysts claim. Fearing that weak research budgets will lead to weak economies, lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic are preparing to pour billions of dollars into research and development (R&D; see pages 633 and 644).

But does the current financial reality reflect the doom-and-gloom predictions? To find out, Nature’s reporters compiled this map of science and technology budgets in 19 key nations. We measured the total government investment in research, which includes both civil and defence R&D, and, to give a better sense of scale, we also looked at that investment as a proportion of each country’s gross domestic product (GDP). These numbers do not take into account regional differences in the costs of doing research or any investment by private industry, but they do give a snapshot of how global leaders view priorities in science and technology.

The results confirm that, at least for now, the United States, Japan and western Europe have a commanding lead over the rest of the world. The United States, in particular, dominates global sciences, spending an astounding US$134 billion on R&D this year alone — more than any other country or region. Much of that money, about 60%, is spent on defence-related R&D, but even when those funds are subtracted, the United States is still the standard by which all other nations measure themselves.

Things may not stay that way, however. Science budgets in the United States, Germany and France, have been stagnant in recent years, whereas budgets in Asian countries such as India and China have been racing upwards. If current trends continue, China is predicted to catch up with European Union spending, at least in terms of GDP share, by 2010.Geoff Brumfiel

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$%$%

AUSTRALIA4,220

0.6

CHINA13,390

0.7

TAIWAN2,800

0.8

FRANCE20,940

1

GERMANY21,270

0.8

INDIA3,500

0.5

ISRAEL790

0.7

JAPAN32,560

0.7

SOUTH KOREA7,640

1

POLAND800

0.3

RUSSIANFEDERATION

3,740

0.6

SINGAPORE885

0.8

SOUTH AFRICA200

0.1

SWITZERLAND2,650

0.7

BRITAIN18,010

0.6

Government R&D budget in the current fiscal year (million US$)( previous fiscal year)

Percentage of GDP

Slow progressOf all the continents, Africa is perhaps farthest from realizing its full scientific potential. Progress has been hampered by regional conflicts, rampant inflation and weak governments. The instability led many African researchers to leave the continent in the 1990s, and many of those who remained have left science for other disciplines.

But there is some progress in South Africa, home to one of the region’s most developed scientific communities. The government’s R&D budget grew an impressive 24% between 2004 and 2005. And between 2004 and 2006, the government plans to spend some US$23 million, about 10% of its annual budget, on technology programmes to alleviate poverty.

An ambitious targetTaken together, the 25 countries that make up the European Union (EU) spend more than US$80 billion per year on research, but they would like to spend more. For 2003, the EU set a formal goal to boost both government and industrial research spending from 2% to 3% of its collective GDP by 2010 (see page 640).

That would require not only billions in fresh government investment, but new funds from European industry. Given a sluggish European economy, industry is unlikely to defy past expectations and begin investing heavily in R&D any time soon.

The EU figures hide the fact that the individual nations move on different tracks. Some, such as Finland, already exceed the 3% target when spending by industry is included; others are taking steps to catch up with the EU average of just under 2%. The UK government, for example, boosted research spending by 13% last year. And Germany, Europe’s largest economy, recently announced an additional US$11 billion of tax money for science over the next four years. The newer member states, meanwhile, are doing their best to catch up from historic low levels.

Rising starsThe collective research budgets of South Korea, China and India are less than one-quarter that of the United States, but their growth since the late 1990s has been rapid.

According to the latest figures available, South Korea’s budget grew by 10% last year, China’s budget expanded by 16% in 2004, and India’s coffers swelled by an astounding 25% this year. The nations are also raising their profile with large projects such as the international fusion project ITER. And India is planning to create its own version of the US National Science Foundation with an annual budget of some US$250 million.

But not all is rosy in the east. Japan’s R&D budget has remained stagnant this year, largely because of rising healthcare and pension costs.

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Source: OECD, UNESCO & individual governments

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