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Research in Belfast

Science Explorer records 90 research institutions in Belfast, United Kingdom. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are Queen's University Belfast, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Agri Food and Biosciences Institute.

Research institutions
90
11 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
67k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
21.6%
record average 16.5%

A city carries no overall standing here. The composite score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Belfast?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1Queen's University BelfastUniversity 49,713 #438
2Royal Victoria HospitalHospital / health system 2,643 #14,571
3Belfast City HospitalHospital / health system 2,024 #19,778
4Belfast Health and Social Care TrustHospital / health system 1,439 #10,093
5Institute for Conflict ResearchNonprofit 1,284 #15,377
6Agri Food and Biosciences InstituteResearch facility 1,102 #10,295
7Belfast City CouncilGovernment institution 822 #23,772 all time
8Education AuthorityGovernment institution 816 #27,135
9Government of Northern IrelandGovernment institution 783 #22,812 all time
10Musgrave Park HospitalHospital / health system 674 #22,849 all time
11Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick ChildrenHospital / health system 672 #25,667
12St Mary's University CollegeUniversity 545 #21,641 all time
13Public Health AgencyInstitution 495 #19,347
14Department of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentGovernment institution 473 #20,753 all time
15Stranmillis University CollegeUniversity 404 #14,143 all time
16Mater HospitalHospital / health system 404 #27,426 all time
17Marie Curie HospiceHospital / health system 350 #26,385
18Department of the EnvironmentGovernment institution 324 #21,235
19The Northern Ireland Cancer CentreHospital / health system 230 #22,358 all time
20Department for InfrastructureGovernment institution 154 #25,701 all time
21Royal Jubilee Maternity ServicesHospital / health system 132 #41,291 all time
22Union Theological CollegeUniversity 109 not ranked
23CatalystNonprofit 87 not ranked
24Northern Ireland OfficeGovernment institution 84 not ranked
25Belfast Metropolitan CollegeUniversity 74 not ranked
26Metropolitan Arts CentreArchive 68 not ranked
27Northern Ireland Civil ServiceGovernment institution 62 not ranked
28Action CancerNonprofit 55 not ranked
29Northern Ireland HospiceHospital / health system 55 not ranked
30Community Relations CouncilInstitution 42 not ranked
31Department of FinanceGovernment institution 41 not ranked
32De Borda InstituteInstitution 37 not ranked
33Bombardier (United Kingdom)Company 37 not ranked
34Proteus (United Kingdom)Company 35 not ranked
35Northern Ireland Statistics and Research AgencyGovernment institution 34 not ranked
36Exploristics (United Kingdom)Company 27 not ranked
37Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care TrustInstitution 27 not ranked
38Gridpoint solutions (United Kingdom)Company 26 not ranked
39Department for Employment and LearningGovernment institution 24 not ranked
40Police Service of Northern IrelandGovernment institution 23 not ranked
41Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary ActionNonprofit 19 not ranked
42Committee on the Administration of JusticeNonprofit 18 not ranked
43Momentum (United Kingdom)Company 18 not ranked
44Campbell CollegeUniversity 17 not ranked
45Linen Hall LibraryArchive 15 not ranked
46East Belfast Community Development AgencyGovernment institution 13 not ranked
47Celerion (United Kingdom)Company 12 not ranked
48Alere (United Kingdom)Company 11 not ranked
49Analytics Engines (United Kingdom)Company 10 not ranked
50Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering CentreInstitution 9 not ranked
51Odyssey TrustCompany 9 not ranked
52BioKinetic Europe (United Kingdom)Company 8 not ranked
53Department of Health Social Services and Public SafetyGovernment institution 8 not ranked
54Schrader International (United Kingdom)Company 7 not ranked
55Northern Ireland Tourist BoardGovernment institution 7 not ranked
56Northern Ireland Housing ExecutiveGovernment institution 7 not ranked
57Strategic Investment BoardGovernment institution 7 not ranked
58Consarc Design Group (United Kingdom)Company 5 not ranked
59Translink (United Kingdom)Company 5 not ranked
60Northern Ireland Chest Heart and StrokeNonprofit 5 not ranked

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022–2025. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

Queen's University Belfast: 74.6%Royal Victoria Hospital: 4.0%Belfast City Hospital: 3.0%Belfast Health and Social Care Trust: 2.2%56 others listed: 16.2%75%largest
Queen's University Belfast50k · 74.6%Royal Victoria Hospital2,643 · 4.0%Belfast City Hospital2,024 · 3.0%Belfast Health and Social Care Trust1,439 · 2.2%56 others listed11k · 16.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

What is Belfast strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Belfast is most concentrated in Pharmaceutical Science, Public Administration and Small Animals (6.3× the world share in Pharmaceutical Science).

  1. Pharmaceutical ScienceSubfield · 57.5 works6.3×
  2. Public AdministrationSubfield · 21.3 works4.6×
  3. Small AnimalsSubfield · 41.7 works4.0×
  4. VeterinaryField · 42.5 works3.7×
  5. Geriatrics and GerontologySubfield · 32.5 works3.5×
  6. HistorySubfield · 90.3 works3.3×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

Which keywords describe research in Belfast?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Nationalism, Conflict, Identity, Mental Health, Transition, Public Health and Globalization.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology459▲ 1.36×133 topics
  2. Globalization246▲ 1.47×119 topics
  3. Climate Change227◆ 0.99×100 topics
  4. Mental Health227▲ 1.82×44 topics
  5. Public Health220▲ 1.78×64 topics
  6. Inflammation208▲ 1.17×83 topics
  7. Machine Learning204▼ 0.73×82 topics
  8. Deep Learning194▼ 0.67×81 topics
  9. Identity186▲ 3.0×57 topics
  10. Nationalism173▲ 4.4×25 topics
  11. Human Rights162▲ 1.85×60 topics
  12. Quality of Life159▲ 1.29×58 topics
  13. Sustainability151▼ 0.73×97 topics
  14. Treatment141▲ 1.37×50 topics
  15. Environmental Impact138◆ 0.95×53 topics
  16. Oxidative Stress129◆ 0.93×59 topics
  17. Risk Factors128▲ 1.36×37 topics
  18. Ethnicity127▲ 4.0×18 topics
  19. Conflict118▲ 8.5×11 topics
  20. Healthcare117▲ 1.22×31 topics
  21. Ethical Considerations109▲ 3.8×18 topics
  22. Transition106▲ 13×6 topics
  23. Depression103▲ 1.37×24 topics
  24. Resilience98▲ 2.4×18 topics
  25. History98▲ 1.64×46 topics
  26. Primary Care97▲ 3.0×15 topics
  27. Reconciliation93▲ 65×2 topics
  28. Mortality92▲ 1.88×13 topics
  29. Paramilitarism92▲ 53×2 topics
  30. Peace Process92▲ 53×2 topics
  31. Consociationalism91▲ 88×1 topic
  32. Northern Ireland91▲ 88×1 topic
  33. Colonialism78▲ 1.93×38 topics
  34. Democracy77▲ 2.5×21 topics
  35. Health Disparities72▲ 3.2×9 topics
  36. Palliative Care58▲ 4.3×5 topics
  37. End-of-Life55▲ 7.1×3 topics
  38. Health Care Costs52▲ 7.6×2 topics
  39. Advance Care Planning49▲ 9.7×1 topic
  40. Family Perspectives49▲ 9.7×1 topic

What research is done in Belfast?

  1. 1 Irish and British StudiesSociology and Political Science 91 works
  2. 2 Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 49 works
  3. 3 Retinal Diseases and TreatmentsOphthalmology 28 works
  4. 4 Advancements in Transdermal Drug DeliveryPharmaceutical Science 28 works
  5. 5 Cystic Fibrosis Research AdvancesPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine 27 works
  6. 6 Antenna Design and AnalysisAerospace Engineering 27 works
  7. 7 Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthClinical Psychology 27 works
  8. 8 Innovations in Medical EducationPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 26 works
  9. 9 Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesSmall Animals 25 works
  10. 10 Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental ImpactEcology 22 works

Research output over time

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.