RIYADH — The expenditure on research and development reached SR19.2 billion, showing a significant increase of 32.7% compared to 2021, according to new figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). GASTAT released on Friday the Research and Development Statistics Report for 2022. The report detailed the proportional distribution of funding among sectors. Government sector funding amounted to SR11.1 billion, constituting 58% of the total research and development funding. Private sector funding amounted to SR7.5 billion, accounting for 39% of the total funding. Meanwhile, the education sector received 3% of the total funding, amounting to SR558 million. The Authority pointed out that compared to 2021, the total number of researchers in the country increased by 21.6% in 2022, reaching 30,160 people. The education sector comprised 89% of the total number of researchers, with 26,750 researchers, followed by the private sector with 6%, totaling 1,810 researchers, and the government sector with 5%, with 1,590 researchers.
