France vs Spain: R&D personnel by sector of performance and region — R&D Personnel

France
678,466 Persons
in 2023
Spain
431,848 Persons
in 2023
France rank
2nd
Spain rank
4th

R&D personnel by sector of performance and region — R&D Personnel over time

  • France
  • Spain
0200.0k400.0k600.0k198820052023

How they compare

France currently reports 678,466 Persons against 431,848 Persons in Spain, a difference of 246,618 Persons.

That makes France's figure about 1.6 times Spain's.

Across all 24 years both countries report, France has been ahead every year.

France ranks 2nd and Spain ranks 4th of 17 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade France Spain Difference Ahead
1980s 330,044 Persons 99,819 Persons 230,225 Persons France
1990s 356,212 Persons 128,898 Persons 227,314 Persons France
2000s 435,553 Persons 288,249 Persons 147,304 Persons France
2010s 556,638 Persons 344,609 Persons 212,028 Persons France
2020s 674,980 Persons 415,254 Persons 259,726 Persons France

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher r&d personnel by sector of performance and region — r&d personnel, France or Spain?
France, at 678,466 Persons against 431,848 Persons in Spain as of 2023.
What is the difference in r&d personnel by sector of performance and region — r&d personnel between France and Spain?
246,618 Persons, with France ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and Spain?
24 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2023.
How do France and Spain rank globally for r&d personnel by sector of performance and region — r&d personnel?
France ranks 2nd and Spain ranks 4th of 17 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as R&D personnel by sector of performance and region — R&D Personnel (total economy). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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France vs Spain: R&D personnel by sector of performance and region — R&D Personnel. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/r-and-d-personnel-by-sector-of-performance-and-region-r-and-d-personnel-total-economy/france/spain/

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About this data

Indicator
R&D personnel by sector of performance and region — R&D Personnel (total economy)
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
224 places, 4,038 data points, 1982–2024
Last refreshed

This table contains research and development (R&D) personnel statistics. Number of R&D personnel is provided in both headcounts and full-time equivalent on R&D by sex, sector of employment (business enterprise, government, higher education, and private non-profit) and by large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2). Definition of regions: Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). TL2 regions are used in this dataset. See the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table (xls) and the OECD Territorial grid (pdf).