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

Singapore
61,693 Persons
in 2023
South Africa
89,604 Persons
in 2023
Singapore rank
20th
South Africa rank
18th

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

  • Singapore
  • South Africa
20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k198320032023

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 89,604 Persons against 61,693 Persons in Singapore, a difference of 27,911 Persons.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.5 times Singapore's.

Across all 23 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Singapore ranks 20th and South Africa ranks 18th of 25 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Singapore South Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 10,748 Persons 30,231 Persons 19,483 Persons South Africa
2000s 34,481 Persons 54,841 Persons 20,360 Persons South Africa
2010s 48,076 Persons 72,663 Persons 24,587 Persons South Africa
2020s 57,605 Persons 85,556 Persons 27,951 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, Singapore or South Africa?
South Africa, at 89,604 Persons against 61,693 Persons in Singapore as of 2023.
What is the difference in r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d between Singapore and South Africa?
27,911 Persons, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Singapore and South Africa?
23 years are reported by both, from 1993 to 2023.
How do Singapore and South Africa rank globally for r&d personnel by sector of performance and formal qualification — r&d?
Singapore ranks 20th 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

Singapore 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/singapore/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/singapore/south-africa/">Singapore 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).