The professional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce has continued to grow across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and EU economies, according to a statistical release published by the OECD on 30 June 2026. The share of science and engineering (S&E) professionals rose from 3.2 to 3.7% of total employment across OECD countries between 2017 and 2024. Information and communication technology (ICT) professionals grew from 2.0 to 3.1% on average across OECD economies. R&D personnel in turn rose to almost 1.6% of total employment. The findings draw on the latest data from the Research and Innovation Careers Observatory (ReICO).
ReICO is a joint OECD-EU initiative that charts the development, labour market footprint and circulation of the research and innovation (R&I) workforce across more than 50 countries. It views the workforce through two complementary lenses: by occupation, counting the STEM workforce of S&E and ICT professionals, and by function, counting R&D personnel. The two overlap but do not coincide, since many STEM professionals do not work on R&D, and not all R&D personnel are STEM professionals. The 2026 ReICO hub update expands the set of indicators relative to the 2025 beta release. For the first time, it includes measures of the professional STEM workforce drawn from labour force and population census data.
Combined, S&E and ICT professionals represent about 7% of total employment across OECD and EU economies. Among OECD Members, this combined share exceeds 10% in Finland, Israel, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden, but falls below 3% in Colombia, Mexico and Türkiye. It is lower still across some partner economies, below 2% in Argentina, India, Indonesia and Peru. The same countries with the largest STEM workforce also tend to be the most ICT-intensive. On average, the share of S&E professionals still exceeds that of ICT professionals, but the reverse holds most markedly in Sweden and the United States, and also in Israel, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
By 2024, the total workforce dedicated to R&D, measured in full-time equivalents (FTE), reached almost 1.6% of total employment on average across the OECD. Following the Frascati Manual, OECD estimates of R&D personnel capture personnel under three functional categories: R&D researchers, R&D technicians and other R&D support staff. From 2015 to 2024, the share of researchers increased from 0.8% to 1.1% in the average OECD country. Among countries with data covering the whole economy, only Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Korea exceed 2% R&D personnel intensity. On average, researchers make up 68% of R&D personnel across the OECD and the EU, ranging from 88% in Sweden to 55% in Switzerland.
Among partner economies in the database, the People’s Republic of China reports a share of 42%, the only economy where researchers account for less than half of R&D personnel. The 2026 edition of the ReICO hub updates over 400 indicators from the 2025 beta release. It widens coverage of the employment conditions of the most highly qualified and adds new indicators on their quality of life. Further additions include expanded data on the financial resources available for R&D personnel across sectors, and new indicators on the education profile of persons employed in innovative firms. The ReICO hub offers a broader picture of R&I workforce capacity, development and circulation across countries.
