Science and technology in Israel

Koffler particle accelerator, Weizmann institute

Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2015, the highest ratio in the world.[1] In 2019, Israel was ranked the world's fifth most innovative country by the Bloomberg Innovation Index.[2] It ranks thirteenth in the world for scientific output as measured by the number of scientific publications per million citizens.[3] In 2014, Israel's share of scientific articles published worldwide (0.9%) was nine times higher than its share of the global population (0.1%).[4][1]

Israel counts 140 scientists and technicians per 10,000 employees, one of the highest ratios in the world. In comparison, there are 85 per 10,000 in the United States and 83 per 10,000 in Japan.[5] In 2012, Israel counted 8,337 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants.[1] This compares with 3,984 in the US, 6,533 in the Republic of South Korea and 5,195 in Japan. Israel's high technology industry has benefited from both the country's highly educated and technologically skilled workforce coupled with the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and sophisticated research centres.[6][1]

Israel is home to major companies in the high-tech industry and has one of the world's most technologically literate populations.[7] In 1998, Tel Aviv was named by Newsweek as one of the ten most technologically influential cities in the world.[8] Since 2000, Israel has been a member of EUREKA, the pan-European research and development funding and coordination organization, and held the rotating chairmanship of the organization for 2010–2011.[9][10] In 2010, American journalist David Kaufman wrote that the high-tech area of Yokneam, Israel, has the "world's largest concentration of aesthetics-technology companies".[11] Google Chairman Eric Schmidt complimented the country during a visit there, saying that “Israel has the most important high-tech center in the world after the US.”[12] Israel was ranked 15th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024,[13] down from tenth in 2019.[14] The Tel Aviv region was ranked the 4th global tech ecosystem in the world.[15]

  1. ^ a b c d "Research and development (R&D) - Gross domestic spending on R&D - OECD Data". data.oecd.org. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  2. ^ "These Are the World's Most Innovative Countries". Bloomberg.com. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  3. ^ Skop, Yarden (2 September 2013). "Israel's scientific fall from grace". Haaretz. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. ^ Ilani, Ofri (17 November 2009). "Israel ranks fourth in the world in scientific activity, study finds". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  5. ^ Shteinbuk, Eduard (22 July 2011). "R&D and Innovation as a Growth Engine" (PDF). National Research University – Higher School of Economics. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Business Opportunities By Sector". Israeli Embassy. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Israel profile – Media". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Tel Aviv One of The World's Top High-Tech Centers". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  9. ^ Barkat, Amiram (7 February 2011). "Israel's cleantech mega-plan". Globes. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  10. ^ "EUREKA Israeli Chairmanship". Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  11. ^ David; Kaufman (8 June 2010). "Israel's Silicon Valley of Beauty Technology". Time Magazine (online). Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Top 10 Non-Jews Positively Influencing the Jewish Future 2012". Algemeiner. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  13. ^ World Intellectual Property Organization (2024). Global Innovation Index 2024. Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship. Geneva. p. 18. doi:10.34667/tind.50062. ISBN 978-92-805-3681-2. Retrieved 2024-10-22. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Soumitra Dutta; Bruno Lanvin; Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (eds.). Global Innovation Index 2019 (PDF). www.wipo.int (Report) (12th ed.). World Intellectual Property Organization. p. xx. ISBN 979-10-95870-14-2. Retrieved 2 September 2021. Overview.
  15. ^ Wrobel, Sharon (10 June 2024). "Tel Aviv moves up to 4th place in annual ranking of global tech ecosystems". The Times of Israel.