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

Ireland
55,482 Persons
in 2021
South Africa
89,604 Persons
in 2023
Ireland rank
21st
South Africa rank
18th

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

  • Ireland
  • South Africa
020.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k198120022023

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 89,604 Persons against 55,482 Persons in Ireland, a difference of 34,122 Persons.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.6 times Ireland's.

Across all 21 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Ireland ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 18th of 25 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Ireland South Africa Difference Ahead
1980s 7,538 Persons 34,400 Persons 26,862 Persons South Africa
1990s 10,704 Persons 33,993 Persons 23,288 Persons South Africa
2000s 28,938 Persons 54,841 Persons 25,903 Persons South Africa
2010s 44,497 Persons 70,788 Persons 26,291 Persons South Africa
2020s 55,482 Persons 85,601 Persons 30,119 Persons South Africa

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, Ireland or South Africa?
South Africa, at 89,604 Persons against 55,482 Persons in Ireland as of 2023.
What is the difference in r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d between Ireland and South Africa?
34,122 Persons, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and South Africa?
21 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2021.
How do Ireland and South Africa rank globally for r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d?
Ireland ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 18th 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

Ireland vs South Africa: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/r-and-d-personnel-by-sector-of-performance-and-formal-qualification-r-and-d-personnel/ireland/south-africa/

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/ireland/south-africa/">Ireland vs South Africa: 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

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).