The ASTI report notes that, following a decade of slowing growth in the 1990s, spending on global agricultural research and development increased by 22 per cent during the period 2000-2008, from $26.1 billion to $31.7 billion (in 2005 PPP dollars). Accelerated research and development spending by China and India accounted for close to half the global increase of $5.6 billion during the period 2000-2008. Similartrends seem to be confirmed from most recent data from the ASTI database, with a doubling of agricultural spending for Viet Nam between 2000 and 2010 and more than 25 per cent growth between 2000 and 2012 for Bangladesh and Nepal.