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In 2024, the highest share of research and development spending (R&D) was made within the software and internet development industry, accounting for a total of nearly ** percent of the global R&D spending. The hardware producers and the health sector followed in second and third at around ** and **** percent, respectively. 

Health industry and COVID-19

The high share spent by the health industry must be seen in relation with the COVID-19 pandemic that started spreading in late 2019 and caused deaths, lockdowns, and restrictions throughout 2020 and onwards. As governments and pharmaceutical companies sought to find an efficient vaccine against the virus, investment in research continued to increase. However, regardless of the pandemic, R&D spending within health care is essential in order to combat a variety of diseases, from small pox via malaria to cancer.

Information and communication technology

As people around the world become more and more dependent on information and communication technology, research spending by companies producing hardware and software continues to increase as these seek to further develop. For instance, all the seven companies with the highest R&D spending in 2022 were either software or hardware producing companies. The largest single investor was the software giant *.