UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

The government tends to be the main source of R&D in terms of volume; Ethiopia’s output remains modest, spending but the business enterprise sector contributes more however, at just nine publications per million inhabitants. than 10% of GERD in Gabon and Uganda (Table 19.5). Foreign sources contribute a sizeable share of GERD in Burundi (40%), The lion’s share of articles focus on life sciences but research Kenya (47%), Tanzania (42%) and Uganda (57%). is growing in geosciences in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Of note is that Cameroon has a diverse research Although two R&D surveys have been published4 since 2011 portfolio, leading the region for the number of Web of within Africa’s Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Science articles in chemistry, engineering, mathematics and Initiative, there is a paucity of data on researchers in most of physics in 2014. Overall, the growth in scientific publications East and Central Africa. According to available data, Gabon in most countries reflects greater political support for S&T. and Kenya have the highest density of researchers by head count (Figure 19.7). Very few patents since 2010 Only two ECA countries have obtained patents from the Distinct progress for the six most prolific countries United States Patent and Trademark Office in the past five Four countries dominate scientific publishing (Cameroon, years. Cameroon registered four utility patents (for new Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda) but productivity is also rising in inventions) in 2010, followed by three in 2012 and four in Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Rwanda, albeit from low 2013. This is a dramatic improvement on the two patents levels (Figure 19.8). Gabon, Cameroon and Kenya count the generated by Cameroon in the period 2005–2009. The other most articles per million inhabitants but it is Ethiopia which country is Kenya; it registered seven utility patents between has shown the most rapid progress, more than doubling its 2010 and 2013, which is nevertheless a marked decline from production since 2005 to take second place behind Kenya the 25 patents it received in the previous five-year period. No other types of patent (design, plant or reissue) have been granted since 2010, indicating that ECA countries continue 4. The first surveys were published in the African Innovation Outlook in 2011 and 2014. Funds have been secured from Sweden to 2017 for the third edition of the Outlook. to struggle to generate and register new inventions.

Figure 19.6: GERD in sub-Saharan Africa by field of science, 2012 or closest year (%) Available countries

Botswana (2012) 30.0 7.9 30.0 27.3 2.91.7

Burundi (2010) 95.2 4.8

Ethiopia* (2010) 6.5 4.7 15.5 47.4 7.2 3.0

Kenya (2010) 4.2 13.3 27.5 44.8 6.2 3.9

Madagascar* (2011) 34.5 16.3 7.1 17.3 4.1 8.0

Mauritius (2012) 14.0 5.3 4.4 64.4 8.0 3.9

Mozambique (2010) 7.4 14.8 23.1 28.8 19.3 6.6

Nigeria (2007) 33.0 24.3 10.3 18.1 10.9 3.2

South Africa (2011) 33.0 27.3 17.2 7.7 12.6 2.2

Togo (2012) 13.2 3.9 10.3 48.9 1.6 21.9

Uganda (2010) 9.0 12.2 18.1 16.7 29.8 14.1

Natural Sciences Engineering Medical & health sciences Agricultural sciences Social sciences Humanities

*Whenever data do not add up to 100% for this indicator, it is because part of the data remain unattributed.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, April 2015

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