How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Ireland?

5 years are reported by both, from 2013 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D Personnel (total economy). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Bulgaria vs Ireland: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D

Bulgaria

35,179 Persons

in 2023

Ireland

55,482 Persons

in 2021

Bulgaria rank

23rd

Ireland rank

21st

R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D over time

Bulgaria
Ireland

How they compare

Ireland currently reports 55,482 Persons against 35,179 Persons in Bulgaria, a difference of 20,303 Persons.

That makes Ireland's figure about 1.6 times Bulgaria's.

Across all 5 years both countries report, Ireland has been ahead every year.

Bulgaria ranks 23rd and Ireland ranks 21st of 25 countries.

Ireland has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Bulgaria	Ireland	Difference	Ahead
2010s	29,526 Persons	49,284 Persons	19,758 Persons	Ireland
2020s	34,613 Persons	55,482 Persons	20,869 Persons	Ireland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d, Bulgaria or Ireland?: Ireland, at 55,482 Persons against 35,179 Persons in Bulgaria as of 2021.
What is the difference in r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d between Bulgaria and Ireland?: 20,303 Persons, with Ireland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Ireland?: 5 years are reported by both, from 2013 to 2021.
How do Bulgaria and Ireland rank globally for r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d?: Bulgaria ranks 23rd and Ireland ranks 21st of 25 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D Personnel (total economy). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Bulgaria vs Ireland: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/r-and-d-personnel-by-sector-of-performance-and-formal-qualification-r-and-d-personnel/bulgaria/ireland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/r-and-d-personnel-by-sector-of-performance-and-formal-qualification-r-and-d-personnel/bulgaria/ireland/">Bulgaria vs Ireland: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D Personnel (total economy)
Unit: Persons
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence: OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage: 34 places, 789 data points, 1981–2024
Last refreshed: 21 August 2026

This table presents research and development (R&D) personnel statistics. Number of R&D personnel is provided in headcounts;D by sex, sector of employment (business enterprise, government, higher education, and private non-profit) and by formal qualification (university and other diplomas by ISCED classification).