JERUSALEM, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's national expenditure on civilian research and development (R&D) amounted to 57.8 billion new shekels (15.95 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 11.1 percent year on year, according to a report released Monday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Israeli R&D expenditure in 2017 accounts for 4.5 percent of GDP, compared with 4.4 percent in 2016, the report said.
In terms of the percentage of GDP, Israel ranked first in 2016 among the countries of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, followed by South Korea and Sweden, and is expected to maintain its top place in 2017.
The expenditure on civilian R&D per capita in Israel reached 1,752 dollars in 2017, mainly owing to the high concentration of development centers of multi-national companies in Israel.
In the business sector, there was a 5.6-percent increase in expenditure on R&D, including activities in international R&D centers in Israel.
The business sector includes mainly computer programming, consulting and other services in computers and software, scientific research, start-up companies, international R&D centers, technological incubators and industry.
According to the report, 55.6 percent of government R&D expenditures in 2017 were allocated to the development of general knowledge, with 29.5 percent used for advancing industrial technologies.
