Science Explorer Explore the map
A free atlas of the world's research

Science Explorer: where the world's research happens

An open map of science. Where is research strongest, field by field? Science Explorer maps every research field — from the four domains down to 4,516 topics — and shows which countries, cities, universities and researchers lead each one, on research quality and on volume. Built on the open OpenAlex record of the world's scholarly works.

Explore the map Browse research fields Countries ranked

Where is science strongest?

On research quality in 2022–2025 — field-normalised excellence, output and citations — China, United States, United Kingdom rank highest overall. Every field has its own leaders: see a field's page for who leads it.

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 22.8% top 10% · 3.9M works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 17.5% top 10% · 3.1M works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #3 all time 21.8% top 10% · 727k works
  4. 4 India · #11 all time 13.0% top 10% · 1.4M works
  5. 5 Germany · #4 all time 17.8% top 10% · 708k works
  6. 6 Italy · #8 all time 21.9% top 10% · 479k works
  7. 7 France · #5 all time 13.3% top 10% · 553k works
  8. 8 Australia · #9 all time 25.4% top 10% · 343k works
  9. 9 Canada · #7 all time 19.9% top 10% · 394k works
  10. 10 Spain · #13 all time 18.1% top 10% · 435k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The tick is the world’s rate in this record, 16.5%; teal is above it, red below. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

All countries ranked

Research fields

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Health Sciences

Social Sciences

All 252 subfields and their topics

What is science working on?

By the world's output in 2019–23: Epidemiology, Climate Change, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Sustainability, Inflammation. Gaining share since 2009–13: Pandemic, COVID-19, Educational Technology, Social Media, E-Learning.

▲ gaining share of all research◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of all research with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology1.0M◆ 1.08×140 topics
  2. Climate Change705k◆ 1.05×132 topics
  3. Deep Learning695k▲ 1.43×85 topics
  4. Machine Learning654k▲ 1.29×97 topics
  5. Sustainability566k▲ 1.41×140 topics
  6. Inflammation527k◆ 0.92×83 topics
  7. Globalization521k◆ 1.06×186 topics
  8. Education430k▲ 1.42×161 topics
  9. Oxidative Stress427k◆ 0.97×63 topics
  10. Sustainable Development422k▲ 1.64×113 topics
  11. Environmental Impact398k▲ 1.23×74 topics
  12. COVID-19389k▲ 5.6×34 topics
  13. Public Health385k▲ 1.19×77 topics
  14. Mental Health384k▲ 1.58×48 topics
  15. Quality of Life366k◆ 1.11×61 topics
  16. Cancer360k◆ 1.06×59 topics
  17. Renewable Energy340k▲ 1.53×61 topics
  18. Social Media340k▲ 2.3×41 topics
  19. Neural Networks322k▲ 1.24×42 topics
  20. Pandemic319k▲ 11×14 topics
  21. Treatment318k◆ 1.00×52 topics
  22. Nanoparticles310k◆ 0.96×44 topics
  23. Remote Sensing299k◆ 0.88×42 topics
  24. Innovation294k▲ 1.18×91 topics
  25. Biomedical Applications293k◆ 1.06×36 topics
  26. Risk Factors291k◆ 1.13×37 topics
  27. Educational Technology288k▲ 2.6×48 topics
  28. Cardiovascular Disease280k◆ 0.99×39 topics
  29. Artificial Intelligence272k▲ 1.34×67 topics
  30. Human Rights269k▲ 1.31×91 topics
  31. E-Learning256k▲ 2.0×27 topics
  32. Nanomaterials255k▲ 1.33×21 topics
  33. Healthcare252k▲ 1.72×44 topics
  34. Diagnosis246k◆ 1.00×41 topics
  35. Energy Efficiency239k◆ 1.14×46 topics
  36. Mechanical Properties235k◆ 1.00×39 topics
  37. Depression221k▲ 1.36×26 topics
  38. Qualitative Research212k▲ 1.81×46 topics
  39. Economic Development208k◆ 1.14×57 topics
  40. Economic Growth205k◆ 1.03×38 topics

Which institutions lead world research?

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #10 all time 27.1% top 10% · 58k works
  2. 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #36 all time 27.2% top 10% · 40k works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #82 all time 27.9% top 10% · 34k works
  4. 4 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 28.6% top 10% · 25k works
  5. 5 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #74 all time 26.1% top 10% · 41k works
  6. 6 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #94 all time 25.5% top 10% · 44k works
  7. 7 Peking University China · Beijing · #75 all time 25.5% top 10% · 32k works
  8. 8 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #2 all time 25.5% top 10% · 24k works
  9. 9 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #11 all time 26.7% top 10% · 26k works
  10. 10 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei · #92 all time 25.2% top 10% · 25k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The tick is the world’s rate in this record, 16.5%; teal is above it, red below. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Size against quality

The two things the ranking blends, on their own axes. The upper left is the interesting corner: places that publish less than the giants and land more of it in the world’s top 10%.

0%20%40%mean 26.53%fractional works (log) →share in the world top 10% →Chinese Academy of Sciences: 58k, 27.1%Tsinghua University: 40k, 27.2%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 34k, 27.9%Harvard University: 25k, 28.6%Zhejiang University: 41k, 26.1%Shanghai Jiao Tong University: 44k, 25.5%Peking University: 32k, 25.5%Stanford University: 24k, 25.5%University of Oxford: 26k, 26.7%University of Science and Technology of China: 25k, 25.2%Harvard UniversityUniversity of Chines…Tsinghua UniversityChinese Academy of S…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per institution in the list above.

Top research institutions worldwide

What is a map of science?

A map of science shows where research happens and how fields relate. Science Explorer draws every research institution on a world map, sized and coloured by output, excellence or specialisation in whichever field you choose, and links each place, field and researcher to a page of its own. It follows a tradition of science mapping that runs from citation maps to Katy Börner's Atlas of Science, built here on open data.