How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Spain?

28 years are reported by both, from 1988 to 2023.

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.

Italy vs Spain: R&D personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — R&D

Italy

518,829 Persons

in 2023

Spain

431,848 Persons

in 2023

Italy rank

3rd

Spain rank

4th

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

Italy
Spain

How they compare

Italy currently reports 518,829 Persons against 431,848 Persons in Spain, a difference of 86,981 Persons.

That makes Italy's figure about 1.2 times Spain's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 28 shared years of data; in 1988 it was Italy ahead.

Italy ranks 3rd and Spain ranks 4th of 25 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	Italy	Spain	Difference	Ahead
1980s	173,326 Persons	93,808 Persons	79,518 Persons	Italy
1990s	186,057 Persons	132,194 Persons	53,863 Persons	Italy
2000s	316,890 Persons	312,302 Persons	4,588 Persons	Italy
2010s	418,140 Persons	350,452 Persons	67,688 Persons	Italy
2020s	510,900 Persons	407,114 Persons	103,787 Persons	Italy

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, Italy or Spain?: Italy, at 518,829 Persons against 431,848 Persons in Spain as of 2023.
What is the difference in r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d between Italy and Spain?: 86,981 Persons, with Italy ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Spain?: 28 years are reported by both, from 1988 to 2023.
How do Italy and Spain rank globally for r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d?: Italy ranks 3rd and Spain ranks 4th 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.

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Italy vs Spain: 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/italy/spain/

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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).