The annual gross expenditure on research and development (R&D) as a percentage of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has been falling since fiscal year 2018-19.
From 0.35 per cent in FY 2018-19, it fell to 0.31 per cent in the following FY and stood at 0.30 per cent in FY 2020-21, according to a latest survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
BBS released the report on its first such survey on Wednesday, expressing its dissatisfaction over the poor R&D expenditure.
"Despite many successes, it is undeniable that Bangladesh continues to fall far behind in the field of R&D," said the BBS report styled "Research and Development (R&D) Survey 2022".
It also mentioned that a nation's progress is directly tied to its R&D efforts. "This is why R&Ds are fundamentally interrelated; poor research can hinder progress and development."
The gross expenditure on R&D per capita also remained lower. In FY 2018-19, the R&D expenses were recorded at Tk 615.51 in FY 2018-19, Tk 590.55 in FY 2019-20, and TK 619.82 in FY 2020-21.
The total R&D expenditure during the past three FYs remained almost static.
Such expenditure was estimated to be Tk 104.8 billion in FY 2020-21 while it was Tk 98.9 billion in FY 2019-20 and Tk 101.9 billion in FY 2018-19.
Most of the expenditure went to agricultural sciences, followed by natural sciences - 31 per cent went to agriculture and 22 per cent to natural sciences in FY 2020-21. Engineering and technology research stood third with around 17 per cent spending.
The number of R&D personnel per million inhabitants was 188, 184, and 187 in the FYs 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 respectively.
In the FYs 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, there were 0.26, 0.25, and 0.25 researchers (based on headcount) per 1,000 labour force respectively.
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