A 2012 study by Thompson Reuters shows 47% of the top 100 worldwide innovators are from the U.S. These U.S. innovations include: the Internet, time-shifted TV, search engines, smartphone operating systems, social networking, and advanced networking technologies. The table below is a forecast of 2013 gross expenditures on research and development (source: Battele, R&D Magazine, IMF, World Bank, and CIA World Factbook).

 

2013 Forecasts for R&D Expenditures

 

Country	Billions	Country	Billions
U.S.	$424	France	$51
China	$220	India	$45
Japan	$162	U.K.	$42
Germany	$91	Russia	$39
South Korea	$58	Brazil	$32

 

2012 Leading Countries in Research and Development: Part I

 

Agriculture & food production	Auto & other motor vehicles	Aerospace, rail & non-auto transportation	Military, aerospace, defense & security	Composite, nanotech, & other advanced materials
U.S.	Germany	U.S.	U.S.	U.S.
China	Japan	France	China	Japan
Germany	U.S.	Germany	Russia	Germany
Australia	S. Korea	China	U.K.	China
Brazil	China	Japan	France	U.K.

 

 

2012 Leading Countries in Research and Development: Part II

 

Energy generation & efficiency	Environmental & sustainability	Health care, medical, life science & biotech	Information & communications	Instruments & non-ICT electronics
U.S.	Germany	U.S.	U.S.	U.S.
Germany	U.S.	U.K.	Japan	Germany
Japan	Japan	Germany	China	Japan
China	U.K.	Japan	Germany	China
U.K.	Sweden	Switzerland	S. Korea	S. Korea

 

A 2012 survey of scientists and engineers from around the world named the U.S. as the leader in research and development in eight of 10 areas of technology and technology research.