National Survey of Research and Experimental Development High–level key results (2009/10 Fiscal Year)

The 2009/10 R&D survey recorded that South Africa’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) amounted to R20.9 billion, a nominal
decrease of R86 million from the R21.0 billion recorded for 2008/9. With the GERD as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 0.87%, the findings indicate a third consecutive decline in the ratio, from 0.93% in 2007/8 and 0.92% in 2008/9.

It is the first time over the past decade that the survey recorded a nominal decline in overall R&D expenditure. A decline of 9.7% in business sector R&D expenditure, a significant contributor to R&D investment, is the primary driver of this trend.
Notwithstanding an overall increase of just over R 1.1 billion in expenditure within the public sector (i.e. government departments, higher education and science councils), this was not adequate to offset the decline of R1.4 billion in the business sector R&D and the not-for-profit sector expenditures.