The number of scientific personnel in Russia increased by 1.1%

The number of scientific personnel in the Russian Federation in 2022 increased for the first time in recent years – to 669.9 thousand people (by 7.2 thousand, or 1.1%, compared to 2021). According to data from the Institute of Statistical Research and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, growth was recorded in all categories of scientific personnel. The number of researchers increased by 0.2%, to 340.7 thousand people; technicians – by 1.5%, to 61.4 thousand; support and other personnel – by 2.2%, to 154.8 thousand and 113.1 thousand people, respectively. However, the number of scientific personnel still lags behind the 2010 level of 736.5 thousand people.

The positive dynamics of the last year allowed the Russian Federation to remain among the top five world leaders in terms of the number of personnel in science according to such an indicator as full-time equivalent (reflects the sum of the shares of time actually spent by personnel engaged in scientific research and development on their implementation)—737 thousand people -years. The first place in this ranking is occupied by China with an unattainable 5.716 million person-years, followed by the USA (2.415 million), Japan (942 thousand) and Germany (754 thousand).

ISSEK notes that in 2022, the rejuvenation of Russian scientific personnel continued. The number of scientists under 30 years old increased over the year by 1%, 30-39 years old – by 0.1%, 40-49 years old – by 4.8%. At the same time, the number of older scientists decreased: in the range of 50-59 years old – by 4.4%, 60-69 years old – by 2.6%. As a result, in general, over 2010–2022, the share of young scientists under the age of 39 increased from 35.5% to 44.1%, and 40–49 years old – from 14.7% to 19.3%. The share of researchers aged 50 to 59 years has almost halved (from 24% to 12.9%). Part of the reason for the changes was the sharp reduction of young scientists in the 1990s, which was not sufficiently compensated by the hiring of new employees, ISSEK notes.

Experts emphasize that, despite the influence of external factors, 2022 in terms of scientific personnel turned out to be more successful than the previous one. Science is increasingly attracting young people: last year, 1.9% of university graduates came to work in organizations performing research and development. It should be noted that strengthening the human resources potential of the field of science and technology is one of the main conditions for ensuring the achievement of the technological sovereignty of the Russian Federation, which is now required by the authorities.

Venera Petrova