In this article, we will be taking a look at the 10 countries with the most scientists per capita in the world. You can also check out our piece — 12 Most Advanced Countries in Science.
Innovation and Growth in the Global Science Industry: AI, Biotechnology, and Market Trends
The global science industry plays a crucial role in driving innovation, advancing knowledge, and addressing critical challenges across various domains. According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global life science analytics market size was valued at $27.1 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $47.5 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 11.8% during the forecast period.
The Business Research Company’s report states that the global scientific research and development services market is expected to grow from $842.7 billion in 2023 to $906 billion in 2024, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%. In the United States, the scientific research and development services market is a significant contributor to the overall industry. According to Mercer’s SIRS® Benchmark Survey, the Life Sciences Industry module covers 3,098 positions from 401 organizations across the country, providing robust compensation data for benchmarking salaries and assessing talent strategies.
Science is moving most quickly in two areas: artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology, according to research from companies and academic institutions. Prominent US universities with research strengths include Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, which have fractional counts in the 2018 Nature journal of 70.67, 39.85, and 37.69, respectively. Tech behemoths Alphabet, Microsoft, and Nvidia control AI research and development in the corporate world. With DeepMind, Alphabet has created deep learning algorithms such as AlphaFold, which has solved 98.5% of human proteins’ structures, which was a major problem for half a century, and AlphaTensor, which advances matrix multiplication to find faster algorithms.
On the other hand, prominent companies in the biotechnology industry are Novo Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY). Novo Nordisk has been at the forefront of diabetes treatment since its inception. Novo Nordisk’s insulin products, such as Tresiba, Levemir, and NovoLog, have benefited millions of people living with diabetes worldwide. The company’s innovative GLP-1-based medications, like Saxenda and Wegovy, have shown promising results in promoting weight loss and improving metabolic health. In the first quarter, Novo Nordisk reported a 28% year-over-year increase in net profit, which came to 25.4 billion Danish kroner ($3.65 billion). Sales of Wegovy, their well-known medication for weight loss, more than doubled to 9.38 billion kroner.
Similarly, Eli Lilly and Company is a leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. Lilly has played a pivotal role in the treatment of diabetes, introducing revolutionary insulin products like Humalog (insulin lispro) and Humulin. The company’s recent launch of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) has revolutionized the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity by activating two incretin hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1. Eli Lilly reported revenue of $8.77 billion in Q1 2024, up 26% year-over-year. Their net income was $2.24 billion, up 67% year-over-year, and earnings per share (EPS) stood at $2.48, up 66% year-over-year during the same period.
A focused and determined scientist in a lab coat studying a petri dish of cells.
Our Methodology
For our methodology, we have ranked the countries with the most scientists per capita in the world based on number of scientists per 1,000 employed people in 2021. For the accuracy of data, we relied on OECD.
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Here is our list of the 10 countries with the most scientists per capita in the world.
10. Singapore
Scientists per 1000 employed: 11.82
Singapore has the world’s highest per capita investment in science and technology. In 2016, the government announced a new Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan allocating US$13.8 billion for research investment until 2020, an 18% increase over the previous plan. The RIE2025 plan approved in 2020 provides for a total public investment of SGD 25 billion (approximately 1% of GDP) for the period 2021-2025, a 30% increase compared to the previous RIE2020 plan. NTU and NUS scientists have developed membrane and ultraviolet disinfection technologies for NEWater, meeting 30% of Singapore’s water needs.
9. Austria
Scientists per 1000 employed: 12.09
Austria had 56,533 researchers (87,459 full-time equivalents) working in research and development (R&D) in 2021. These researchers were employed in non-profits, higher education, business, and government. Scientific professionals made up about 63% of R&D personnel, while women made up 24% of academic staff. Austria has produced several eminent scientists and pioneering inventions across various fields, for example, Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) was a Physicist who formulated the Schrödinger equation which is a fundamental equation of quantum mechanics, and received the Nobel Prize in 1933, and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) who is a pioneering psychoanalyst and founder of psychoanalysis.
8. Iceland
Scientists per 1000 employed: 13.01
Iceland has produced one Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955 for his vivid epic power which revives the classical Icelandic tradition. In the Scimago Journal and Country Rank, which evaluates scientific publications, Iceland ranked 84th globally, with 32,773 citable documents and an H-index of 393 as of 2024.
7. Norway
Scientists per 1000 employed: 13.66
Norway has produced several renowned scientists who have made groundbreaking contributions like Ivar Giaever (born 1929), a physicist who won the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics for his experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in superconductors. His work laid the foundation for the scanning tunneling microscope and Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917), a renowned scientist who conducted groundbreaking research on the aurora borealis (northern lights) and electromagnetic phenomena in the Earth’s atmosphere.
6. Taiwan
Scientists per 1000 employed: 14.66
Taiwan is a global leader in scientific research and innovation, ranking sixth among the countries with the most scientists per capita in the world. It ranks 22nd in the world for the number of scientific publications per capita in 2020, with 1,677 publications per million people. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, pioneering advanced chip manufacturing processes. Taiwan has also prioritized renewable energy sources like solar and offshore wind power, as well as exploring hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and smart grid technologies. Academia Sinica which is Taiwan’s premier research institution, has made groundbreaking discoveries in areas like cancer research, genomics, and stem cell biology. Notable achievements include the development of targeted cancer therapies and advancements in regenerative medicine.
5. Denmark
Scientists per 1000 employed: 14.78
Denmark stands fifth among the countries with the most scientists per capita in the world with around 14.78 scientists and researchers per 1000 employed. Denmark’s research is not only in quantity but also in quality. The country ranks among the top 5 OECD countries for scientific impact, as measured by citations per publication during the 2012-2016 period. Remarkably, 19.8% of Denmark’s publications were among the 10% most cited globally, the highest share among OECD countries, tied with Switzerland. Niels Bohr from Denmark (1885-1962), A pioneering physicist revolutionized our understanding of atomic structure and quantum theory. His work laid the foundation for modern physics and earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
4. Belgium
Scientists per 1000 employed: 15.3
Belgium excels in biotechnology and has a world-leading nanotechnology research center, the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre in Leuven. The country also has the world’s highest number of clinical trials per capita, attributed to its strong research capacity and efficient approval processes for Phase I trials compared to other European nations. Prominent Belgian pharmaceutical and biotech companies include Janssen (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), UCB, Galapagos, and Ablynx, contributing significantly to the country’s innovative ecosystem. Belgium is home to renowned research institutions like the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain), which have generated numerous spin-off companies and attracted significant investment in their respective regions.
3. Finland
Scientists per 1000 employed: 16.16
In 2021, Finland’s R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP was nearly 3%, amounting to €7.6 billion. While above the OECD average, Finland was the only Nordic country in 2021 where R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP was lower than in 2010. The Finnish government aims to raise R&D expenditure to 4% of GDP by 2030 through the R&D funding act implemented in 2023. Finland has produced several renowned scientists and groundbreaking inventions, including Linus Torvalds who was the principal force behind the development of the Linux kernel and the open-source operating system, and Arri Pentti Virtanen, a chemist who won the 1945 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on preserving fodder and other plant products.
2. Sweden
Scientists per 1000 employed: 16.55
Sweden is renowned as one of the leading countries in terms of scientific research and innovation. Sweden has produced numerous renowned scientists and inventors including Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786), a chemist who discovered several elements, including oxygen, chlorine, and barium, and made significant contributions to the field of analytical chemistry and Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927), who is a Nobel Prize-winning chemist who formulated the greenhouse effect theory and made significant contributions to the understanding of ionic theory and electrolytic dissociation.
1. South Korea
Scientists per 1000 employed: 17.26
South Korea tops the list for being the country with the most scientists per capita in the world. In 2020, South Korean researchers published 91,030 scientific and technical journal articles, ranking 13th worldwide and accounting for 1,762 publications per million population. Companies like Samsung and LG have pioneered innovations in consumer electronics, displays, and memory chips. South Korea was an early adopter of high-speed internet and mobile networks. The country’s researchers played a pivotal role in developing and commercializing 5G technology, with companies like Samsung and LG leading the way. South Korea has a thriving biotechnology industry, with companies like Samsung Biologics and Celltrion leading the way in biopharmaceutical development. Researchers at institutions like the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have made significant contributions to areas like stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
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