City · Belgium
Research in Brussels
Science Explorer records 466 research institutions in Brussels, Belgium. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles and European Commission.
- Research institutions
- 466 15 of them ranked worldwide
- Research works
- 211k ▲ 7% vs 2013–17
- Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
- 17.1% 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 Brussels?
| # | Institution | Works | Against the largest here | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vrije Universiteit BrusselUniversity | 45,422 | #652 | |
| 2 | Université Libre de BruxellesUniversity | 41,558 | #666 | |
| 3 | Cliniques Universitaires Saint-LucHospital / health system | 7,845 | #3,088 | |
| 4 | Erasmus HospitalHospital / health system | 7,324 | #7,699 | |
| 5 | European CommissionGovernment institution | 6,198 | #2,324 | |
| 6 | UCLouvain Saint-Louis BrusselsUniversity | 6,179 | #9,757 | |
| 7 | European Union of Medical SpecialistsInstitution | 5,270 | #18,342 | |
| 8 | European UnionGovernment institution | 3,877 | #7,466 | |
| 9 | Universitair Ziekenhuis BrusselHospital / health system | 3,741 | #5,153 | |
| 10 | Institut Jules BordetHospital / health system | 3,352 | #8,767 | |
| 11 | Institute of Natural SciencesResearch facility | 3,077 | #7,749 | |
| 12 | IS practiceInstitution | 2,995 | #11,256 | |
| 13 | European Corporate Governance InstituteNonprofit | 2,685 | #12,782 | |
| 14 | Material (Belgium)Company | 2,587 | #7,413 | |
| 15 | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-PierreHospital / health system | 2,390 | #14,206 | |
| 16 | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire BrugmannHospital / health system | 2,295 | #19,203 | |
| 17 | Solvay (Belgium)Company | 2,215 | #10,573 | |
| 18 | Fund for Scientific ResearchNonprofit | 2,090 | #9,537 | |
| 19 | Directorate-General for InterpretationGovernment institution | 1,788 | #13,697 | |
| 20 | Union des Industries Ferroviaires EuropéennesInstitution | 1,776 | #14,927 | |
| 21 | Health Information ManagementInstitution | 1,692 | #9,698 | |
| 22 | Royal Military AcademyUniversity | 1,641 | #15,368 | |
| 23 | Ludwig Cancer ResearchNonprofit | 1,285 | #1,876 all time | |
| 24 | Leefmilieu BrusselInstitution | 1,262 | #22,909 | |
| 25 | Directorate-General Joint Research CentreGovernment institution | 1,254 | #15,665 | |
| 26 | Royal Observatory of BelgiumResearch facility | 1,253 | #10,865 | |
| 27 | Statistics BelgiumGovernment institution | 1,238 | #11,362 | |
| 28 | UCB Pharma (Belgium)Company | 1,203 | #10,995 | |
| 29 | Institut Scientifique de Santé PubliqueResearch facility | 1,163 | #8,863 all time | |
| 30 | Royal Belgian Institute for Space AeronomyResearch facility | 1,138 | #6,082 | |
| 31 | Research Foundation - FlandersGovernment institution | 1,123 | #6,946 | |
| 32 | Queen Fabiola Children's University HospitalHospital / health system | 1,083 | #14,412 | |
| 33 | de Duve InstituteResearch facility | 1,034 | #6,407 | |
| 34 | Centre for European Policy StudiesNonprofit | 984 | #16,162 | |
| 35 | Erasmus University College BrusselsUniversity | 882 | #26,304 all time | |
| 36 | North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationFunder | 867 | #22,866 | |
| 37 | Research Institute for Nature and ForestResearch facility | 830 | #11,142 | |
| 38 | European ParliamentGovernment institution | 814 | #24,582 | |
| 39 | International Solvay InstitutesInstitution | 810 | #6,136 | |
| 40 | Umicore (Belgium)Company | 793 | #18,319 | |
| 41 | Sciensano (Belgium)Company | 775 | #5,378 | |
| 42 | Royal Meteorological Institute of BelgiumResearch facility | 742 | #9,535 | |
| 43 | Total (Belgium)Company | 733 | #11,709 | |
| 44 | European CouncilGovernment institution | 715 | #17,159 | |
| 45 | European Organisation for Research and Treatment of CancerNonprofit | 681 | #19,653 | |
| 46 | Cosmetics EuropeInstitution | 675 | #19,739 | |
| 47 | European Society of AnaesthesiologyInstitution | 668 | #10,619 all time | |
| 48 | University FoundationNonprofit | 627 | #24,371 | |
| 49 | European Trade Union InstituteNonprofit | 612 | #25,080 | |
| 50 | BruegelNonprofit | 611 | #8,567 | |
| 51 | Veterinary and Agrochemical Research CentreResearch facility | 591 | #11,711 all time | |
| 52 | Médecins du MondeHospital / health system | 563 | #27,883 | |
| 53 | European Automobile Manufacturers AssociationInstitution | 561 | #23,406 | |
| 54 | International Zinc AssociationNonprofit | 534 | #26,059 | |
| 55 | Clinique Saint JeanHospital / health system | 526 | #22,795 | |
| 56 | Pour la SolidaritéInstitution | 468 | #20,376 | |
| 57 | Directorate-General for EnergyGovernment institution | 461 | #24,896 | |
| 58 | SirrisNonprofit | 460 | #26,464 | |
| 59 | National Bank of BelgiumGovernment institution | 458 | #25,467 | |
| 60 | Directorate-General for Research and InnovationGovernment institution | 451 | #17,767 |
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.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel45k · 24.0%Université Libre de Bruxelles42k · 22.0%Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc7,845 · 4.2%Erasmus Hospital7,324 · 3.9%56 others listed87k · 45.9%
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
What is Brussels strongest at in research?
Relative to its size, research in Brussels is most concentrated in Insect Science, General Energy and Public Administration (6.3× the world share in Insect Science).
- Insect ScienceSubfield · 520.6 works6.3×
- General EnergySubfield · 31.4 works4.0×
- Public AdministrationSubfield · 48.0 works3.1×
- ClassicsSubfield · 49.4 works2.9×
- PaleontologySubfield · 97.9 works2.8×
- Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 1,182.9 works2.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →
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 Brussels?
By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Globalization, Phylogeny, Taxonomy, DNA Barcoding, Evolution, Biodiversity and Invasive Species.
- Pheromones
- Environmental Challenge
- Institutionalization
- Pest Management
- Territorial Governance
- Social Determinants of Health
- Molecular Phylogenetics
- Cryptic Species
- Colonialism
- Biological Control
- Social Justice
- Gender
- Identity
- Taxonomy
- Phylogeny
- Mental Health
- Human Rights
- Quality of Life
- Sustainability
- Globalization
- Epidemiology
- Climate Change
- Public Health
- Biodiversity
- Inflammation
- Invasive Species
- Evolution
- DNA Barcoding
- Public Policy
- Conservation
- Democracy
- European Union
- Community Engagement
- Lepidoptera
- Host Specificity
- Sustainable Energy
- Local Development
- Ecological Impact
- Economic Assessment
- Water Hyacinth
▲ 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
- Epidemiology1,368▲ 1.19×139 topics
- Globalization1,005▲ 1.77×169 topics
- Climate Change894◆ 1.15×121 topics
- Sustainability717◆ 1.01×128 topics
- Public Health623▲ 1.48×74 topics
- Quality of Life595▲ 1.42×61 topics
- Biodiversity593▲ 2.7×36 topics
- Human Rights538▲ 1.80×88 topics
- Inflammation531◆ 0.88×83 topics
- Mental Health530▲ 1.25×47 topics
- Invasive Species485▲ 3.9×21 topics
- Phylogeny426▲ 9.8×17 topics
- Evolution422▲ 5.9×19 topics
- Taxonomy390▲ 10×15 topics
- DNA Barcoding385▲ 8.2×9 topics
- Identity360▲ 1.70×77 topics
- Public Policy352▲ 2.5×33 topics
- Gender349▲ 2.2×58 topics
- Conservation348▲ 2.8×24 topics
- Social Justice328▲ 1.92×53 topics
- Democracy323▲ 3.1×30 topics
- Biological Control311▲ 7.2×10 topics
- European Union310▲ 4.7×28 topics
- Colonialism309▲ 2.2×50 topics
- Community Engagement286▲ 3.0×20 topics
- Cryptic Species267▲ 40×2 topics
- Lepidoptera259▲ 48×1 topic
- Molecular Phylogenetics259▲ 48×1 topic
- Host Specificity243▲ 7.4×5 topics
- Social Determinants of Health235▲ 3.6×8 topics
- Sustainable Energy230▲ 4.4×4 topics
- Territorial Governance222▲ 6.1×4 topics
- Local Development210▲ 6.3×2 topics
- Pest Management206▲ 8.5×5 topics
- Ecological Impact204▲ 14×3 topics
- Institutionalization202▲ 7.5×5 topics
- Economic Assessment194▲ 24×2 topics
- Environmental Challenge193▲ 58×1 topic
- Water Hyacinth193▲ 58×1 topic
- Pheromones163▲ 11×3 topics
What research is done in Brussels?
GeneticsInsect ScienceSociology and Political SciencePolitical Science and International Relations2 others
Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.
- 1 Lepidoptera: Biology and TaxonomyGenetics 259 works
- 2 Biological Control of Invasive SpeciesInsect Science 193 works
- 3 Insect Pheromone Research and ControlInsect Science 141 works
- 4 French Urban and Social StudiesSociology and Political Science 134 works
- 5 European Union Policy and GovernancePolitical Science and International Relations 110 works
- 6 Healthcare Systems and PracticesGeneral Health Professions 100 works
- 7 European and International Law StudiesPolitical Science and International Relations 95 works
- 8 Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, GenderPolitical Science and International Relations 77 works
- 9 Social Sciences and GovernanceUrban Studies 77 works
- 10 Education, sociology, and vocational trainingSociology and Political Science 72 works
Research output over time
grewheldshrank
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.