Researchers in R&D are professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods, or systems and in the management of the projects concerned. Postgraduate PhD students (ISCED97 level 6) engaged in R&D are included.
| 2005 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botswana | 168 | 180 | ||||||||||||
| Lesotho | 6 | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Namibia | 149 | 225 | ||||||||||||
| South Africa | 351 | 360 | 382 | 401 | 430 | 428 | 467 | 482 | 517 | 501 | 480 | 460 | 455 | 444 |
| Eswatini | 138 |