Data by the European Union shows that South Korea's expenditure in research and development(R&D) is the highest in the world in proportion to its gross domestic product(GDP).
 
The EU's official statistical office Eurostat said Friday that R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP for the 28 EU member nations remained stable at an average two-point-03 percent in 2016. It said this figure, known as R&D intensity, was one-point-76 percent ten years ago.
 
Eurostat said that though the percentage has edged up in comparison with other major economies, R&D intensity in the EU was much lower than in countries such as South Korea, Japan and the United States.
 
It said South Korea had the highest R&D intensity in the world at four-point-23 percent as of 2015, even higher than Sweden's three-point-25 percent, which is the highest in the EU. 
 
Japan's R&D intensity recorded three-point-29 percent and the U.S. two-point-79 percent in 2015.