Where the world’s research happens
Every field of science, from the four domains down to 4,516 topics, and the countries, cities, universities and researchers that lead each one. Built on the open OpenAlex record of the world’s scholarly works.
- research works
- 105.6M
- countries
- 192
- institutions
- 65k
- research topics
- 4.5k
- researchers
- 1.6M
Your atlas
What is rising in science?
The research topics growing fastest, by output from 2005–09 to 2015–19, after the five above. Each links to who leads it.
- 6 Educational Curriculum and Learning Methods Education · Social Sciences +6150% 61k works
- 7 Blockchain Technology in Education and Learning Information Systems · Computer Science +5822% 43k works
- 8 Healthcare Quality and Satisfaction General Health Professions · Health Professions +5790% 29k works
- 9 Multimedia Learning Systems Information Systems · Computer Science +5638% 37k works
- 10 Local Governance and Development Geography, Planning and Development · Social Sciences +5380% 26k works
- 11 Child Development and Education Education · Social Sciences +5049% 27k works
Institutions climbing the ranking
- 1
University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina · Beijing
#82→ #3 up 79 - 2
Tsinghua UniversityChina · Beijing
#36→ #2 up 34 - 3
Sichuan UniversityChina · Chengdu
#180→ #11 up 169 - 4
Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina · Shanghai
#94→ #6 up 88 - 5
Zhejiang UniversityChina · Hangzhou
#74→ #5 up 69
Rank on research quality over all time, then in 2022–now. A climb means the recent work is stronger than the record as a whole.
All trends: fields, the balance of science, rising countriesQuestions to start with
- Which country publishes the most scientific papers?
- Which institutions lead world research?
- Which countries lead AI research?
- Which are the best cancer research institutions in the world?
- Which countries lead climate change research?
- Which countries lead astronomy and astrophysics?
Where is science strongest?
On research quality in 2022–now — field-normalised excellence, output and citations — China, United States and United Kingdom rank highest overall. Every field has its own leaders: see a field's page for who leads it.
- 1 China · #2 all time 22.8% top 10% · 3.9M works
- 2 United States · #1 all time 17.5% top 10% · 3.1M works
- 3 United Kingdom · #3 all time 21.8% top 10% · 727k works
- 4 India · #11 all time 13.0% top 10% · 1.4M works
- 5 Germany · #4 all time 17.8% top 10% · 708k works
- 6 Italy · #8 all time 21.9% top 10% · 479k works
- 7 France · #5 all time 13.3% top 10% · 553k works
- 8 Australia · #9 all time 25.4% top 10% · 343k works
- 9 Canada · #7 all time 19.9% top 10% · 394k works
- 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 rankedResearch fields
Of the 22M research works published in 2022–now, 156% are in Physical Sciences, 92% in Health Sciences, 74% in Social Sciences and 52% in Life Sciences. The largest fields are Medicine (38%), Medicine (38%), Engineering (30%). Gaining share fastest since 2009–2013: Energy, Energy and Social Sciences.
Each ring splits the one inside it: domains, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022–now. Every slice is a page; the interactive version zooms down to all 4,516 topics and shows where each one is strongest.
All 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
- Physical Sciences34M156.2%
- Engineering6.6M30.0%
- Engineering6.6M30.0%
- Computer Science3.4M15.6%
- Computer Science3.4M15.6%
- Environmental Science2.2M9.9%
- Environmental Science2.2M9.9%
- Materials Science1.5M7.0%
- Materials Science1.5M7.0%
- Physics and Astronomy979k4.4%
- Physics and Astronomy979k4.4%
- Chemistry691k3.1%
- Chemistry691k3.1%
- Earth and Planetary Sciences691k3.1%
- Earth and Planetary Sciences691k3.1%
- Mathematics518k2.4%
- Mathematics518k2.4%
- Energy405k1.8%
- Energy405k1.8%
- Chemical Engineering154k0.7%
- Chemical Engineering154k0.7%
- Health Sciences20M91.9%
- Medicine8.5M38.5%
- Medicine8.5M38.5%
- Health Professions1.2M5.3%
- Health Professions1.2M5.3%
- Nursing216k1.0%
- Nursing216k1.0%
- Dentistry214k1.0%
- Dentistry214k1.0%
- Veterinary60k0.3%
- Veterinary60k0.3%
- Social Sciences16M74.4%
- Social Sciences2.8M12.7%
- Social Sciences2.8M12.7%
- Business, Management and Accounting1.4M6.4%
- Business, Management and Accounting1.4M6.4%
- Psychology1.3M6.1%
- Psychology1.3M6.1%
- Arts and Humanities1.3M5.8%
- Arts and Humanities1.3M5.8%
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance942k4.3%
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance942k4.3%
- Decision Sciences426k1.9%
- Decision Sciences426k1.9%
- Life Sciences12M52.3%
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.3M10.7%
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.3M10.7%
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences2.1M9.5%
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences2.1M9.5%
- Neuroscience715k3.2%
- Neuroscience715k3.2%
- Immunology and Microbiology443k2.0%
- Immunology and Microbiology443k2.0%
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics155k0.7%
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics155k0.7%
Life Sciences
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- Immunology and Microbiology
- Immunology and Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
Physical Sciences
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Computer Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Energy
- Energy
- Engineering
- Engineering
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Science
- Materials Science
- Materials Science
- Mathematics
- Mathematics
- Physics and Astronomy
- Physics and Astronomy
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.
- Economic Growth
- Qualitative Research
- Mechanical Properties
- Diagnosis
- Nanomaterials
- Human Rights
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Risk Factors
- Innovation
- Nanoparticles
- Pandemic
- Social Media
- Cancer
- Mental Health
- COVID-19
- Sustainable Development
- Education
- Inflammation
- Machine Learning
- Climate Change
- Epidemiology
- Deep Learning
- Sustainability
- Globalization
- Oxidative Stress
- Environmental Impact
- Public Health
- Quality of Life
- Renewable Energy
- Neural Networks
- Treatment
- Remote Sensing
- Biomedical Applications
- Educational Technology
- Artificial Intelligence
- E-Learning
- Healthcare
- Energy Efficiency
- Depression
- Economic Development
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
- Epidemiology1.0M◆ 1.08×140 topics
- Climate Change705k◆ 1.05×132 topics
- Deep Learning695k▲ 1.43×85 topics
- Machine Learning654k▲ 1.29×97 topics
- Sustainability566k▲ 1.41×140 topics
- Inflammation527k◆ 0.92×83 topics
- Globalization521k◆ 1.06×186 topics
- Education430k▲ 1.42×161 topics
- Oxidative Stress427k◆ 0.97×63 topics
- Sustainable Development422k▲ 1.64×113 topics
- Environmental Impact398k▲ 1.23×74 topics
- COVID-19389k▲ 5.6×34 topics
- Public Health385k▲ 1.19×77 topics
- Mental Health384k▲ 1.58×48 topics
- Quality of Life366k◆ 1.11×61 topics
- Cancer360k◆ 1.06×59 topics
- Renewable Energy340k▲ 1.53×61 topics
- Social Media340k▲ 2.3×41 topics
- Neural Networks322k▲ 1.24×42 topics
- Pandemic319k▲ 11×14 topics
- Treatment318k◆ 1.00×52 topics
- Nanoparticles310k◆ 0.96×44 topics
- Remote Sensing299k◆ 0.88×42 topics
- Innovation294k▲ 1.18×91 topics
- Biomedical Applications293k◆ 1.06×36 topics
- Risk Factors291k◆ 1.13×37 topics
- Educational Technology288k▲ 2.6×48 topics
- Cardiovascular Disease280k◆ 0.99×39 topics
- Artificial Intelligence272k▲ 1.34×67 topics
- Human Rights269k▲ 1.31×91 topics
- E-Learning256k▲ 2.0×27 topics
- Nanomaterials255k▲ 1.33×21 topics
- Healthcare252k▲ 1.72×44 topics
- Diagnosis246k◆ 1.00×41 topics
- Energy Efficiency239k◆ 1.14×46 topics
- Mechanical Properties235k◆ 1.00×39 topics
- Depression221k▲ 1.36×26 topics
- Qualitative Research212k▲ 1.81×46 topics
- Economic Development208k◆ 1.14×57 topics
- Economic Growth205k◆ 1.03×38 topics
Which institutions lead world research?
- 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #10 all time 27.1% top 10% · 58k works
- 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #36 all time 27.2% top 10% · 40k works
- 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #82 all time 27.9% top 10% · 34k works
- 4 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 28.6% top 10% · 25k works
- 5 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #74 all time 26.1% top 10% · 41k works
- 6 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #94 all time 25.5% top 10% · 44k works
- 7 Peking University China · Beijing · #75 all time 25.5% top 10% · 32k works
- 8 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #2 all time 25.5% top 10% · 24k works
- 9 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #11 all time 26.7% top 10% · 26k works
- 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%.
One dot per institution in the list above.
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.
Popular fields
- Artificial intelligence
- Quantum computing algorithms and architecture
- Oncology
- Climate variability and models
- Neuroscience
- Materials science
- Crispr and genetic engineering
- Alzheimers disease research and treatments
- Economics econometrics and finance
- Psychology
- Physics and astronomy
- Mathematics
- Graphene research and applications
- Tuberculosis research and epidemiology
- Autism spectrum disorder research
- Dark matter and cosmic phenomena
- Advancements in battery materials
- Blockchain technology applications and security