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Afghanistan vs Cuba

On research quality in 2022-now, Cuba ranks #103 in the world and Afghanistan #106, of 189 countries. Afghanistan stands higher in 4 of the 12 fields both publish in, Cuba in 8.

Research profiles alike: 0.70similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Afghanistan

World rank, 2022-now
#106
#135 all time
Works, 2022-now
4.5k
fractional
Top-10% rate
9.0%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
86%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Transportation, Political Science and International Relations, Chemical Health and Safety.

Cuba

World rank, 2022-now
#103
#102 all time
Works, 2022-now
9.1k
fractional
Top-10% rate
5.7%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
41%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Life-span and Life-course Studies, General Social Sciences, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Afghanistan leads on 6 of 9 measures: excellence for its fields, top-10% rate, citations per work, open access, international co-authorship and growth. Cuba leads on 2 of 9 measures: research quality and output. The two are level on institutions in the world top 100.

Afghanistan 61 level2 Cuba
  1. #106Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#103
  2. 0.80×Excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.55×
  3. 4.5kOutputfractional works, 2022-now9.1k
  4. 9.0%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited5.7%
  5. 4.7Citations per workall time, per fractional work3.7
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 86%Open accessof its works free to read, all time41%
  8. 34%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time19%
  9. +155%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change-64%

A rank is drawn as its standing: the longer the bar, the nearer the top. Anything else is drawn against the larger of the two, and two values a hair apart are called level. Quality, excellence and the top-10% rate are explained in the methodology.

Who leads in each field?

Afghanistan stands higher in 4 of 12 fields, Cuba in 8. Cuba leads most in Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#90 against #95); Afghanistan leads most in Computer Science (#94 against #106). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Afghanistan 48 Cuba
  1. #95Agricultural and Biological Sciences#90
  2. -Arts and Humanities#86
  3. -Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#89
  4. -Business, Management and Accounting#97
  5. #94Computer Science#106
  6. -Economics, Econometrics and Finance#95
  7. #99Engineering#107
  8. -Environmental Science#93
  9. -Health Professions#66
  10. #115Medicine#123
  11. -Psychology#61
  12. #89Social Sciences#91

Standing is the percentile of world rank within each field, 2022-now; the printed number is the rank itself. A dash means the field is too small there to rank. How sides are compared.

The numbers behind each field

Click a heading to sort. The side that does better in a pair of columns is shaded: a lower rank, a higher rate, more works.

Field Afghanistan rankCuba rank Afghanistan top 10%Cuba top 10% Afghanistan worksCuba works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #95 #90 8.9% 4.9% 317 756
Arts and Humanities - #86 - 6.0% - 255
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology - #89 - 4.6% - 285
Business, Management and Accounting - #97 - 4.0% - 447
Computer Science #94 #106 13.5% 4.8% 260 572
Economics, Econometrics and Finance - #95 - 6.3% - 260
Engineering #99 #107 9.0% 4.5% 416 433
Environmental Science - #93 - 4.0% - 515
Health Professions - #66 - 14.3% - 630
Medicine #115 #123 6.5% 3.8% 690 1.7k
Psychology - #61 - 6.3% - 327
Social Sciences #89 #91 10.4% 6.7% 1.3k 2.1k

What is each known for?

The keywords that describe each side's research, by fractional works in 2022-now and weighted toward what it does more of than the world.

Afghanistan

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's
All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Security309▲ 8.7×24 topics
  2. Epidemiology296▲ 1.39×126 topics
  3. Conflict293▲ 34×9 topics
  4. Central Asia260▲ 69×4 topics
  5. Nation-Building252▲ 89×3 topics
  6. Reconstruction252▲ 28×6 topics
  7. State-Building251▲ 133×2 topics
  8. Afghanistan249▲ 196×1 topic
  9. Pakistan249▲ 196×1 topic
  10. Globalization244▲ 2.3×91 topics
  11. Ethnicity210▲ 11×14 topics
  12. Culture207▲ 7.4×16 topics
  13. History204▲ 5.5×20 topics
  14. Climate Change202▲ 1.39×97 topics
  15. Literature201▲ 6.9×23 topics
  16. Philosophy198▲ 8.4×13 topics
  17. Islam191▲ 17×5 topics
  18. Social Influence190▲ 17×3 topics
  19. Science189▲ 14×3 topics
  20. Malay Language188▲ 25×1 topic
  21. Sharia Law188▲ 25×1 topic
  22. Sustainable Development178▲ 2.1×76 topics
  23. Economic Security164▲ 14×7 topics
  24. Legal Regulation162▲ 14×7 topics
  25. Strategic Planning158▲ 20×3 topics
  26. Design158▲ 18×4 topics
  27. Modernization157▲ 16×4 topics
  28. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles157▲ 16×4 topics
  29. International Trade Law156▲ 22×2 topics
  30. Foresight156▲ 22×2 topics
  31. Air Force155▲ 25×1 topic
  32. Warfare155▲ 25×1 topic
  33. Public Oversight155▲ 24×1 topic
  34. Transport Policy155▲ 24×1 topic
  35. Human Rights133▲ 2.4×55 topics
  36. Teacher Training107▲ 3.3×16 topics
  37. Islamic Education87▲ 4.9×4 topics
  38. Religious Education68▲ 7.9×3 topics
  39. Madrasa66▲ 18×1 topic
  40. Muslim Students66▲ 18×1 topic

Cuba

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's
All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Education916▲ 5.2×89 topics
  2. Epidemiology688▲ 1.67×135 topics
  3. Public Health687▲ 4.6×73 topics
  4. Sustainability596▲ 2.4×98 topics
  5. Innovation502▲ 4.7×55 topics
  6. Climate Change468▲ 1.67×106 topics
  7. Globalization466▲ 2.3×106 topics
  8. Competitiveness427▲ 52×7 topics
  9. Health Promotion418▲ 13×17 topics
  10. Sustainable Development409▲ 2.5×73 topics
  11. Educational Technology402▲ 3.3×39 topics
  12. Quality of Life388▲ 2.6×59 topics
  13. Knowledge Management341▲ 5.9×28 topics
  14. Teacher Training336▲ 5.3×23 topics
  15. E-Learning325▲ 3.3×21 topics
  16. Pedagogy310▲ 6.0×23 topics
  17. Risk Assessment296▲ 4.3×24 topics
  18. Digital Marketing281▲ 7.0×5 topics
  19. Health Policy272▲ 17×7 topics
  20. Social Determinants of Health271▲ 12×8 topics
  21. Medical Education264▲ 9.5×14 topics
  22. Gender257▲ 4.6×31 topics
  23. Nutrition251▲ 5.5×18 topics
  24. Small and Medium Enterprises250▲ 14×9 topics
  25. Social Responsibility250▲ 10×9 topics
  26. Distance Learning247▲ 6.9×12 topics
  27. Inclusive Education244▲ 6.5×16 topics
  28. Innovation Ecosystems243▲ 23×3 topics
  29. Decision Making240▲ 8.0×13 topics
  30. Rural Development233▲ 6.5×17 topics
  31. Organizational Performance228▲ 8.5×11 topics
  32. Communication226▲ 6.9×18 topics
  33. Financial Reporting224▲ 18×7 topics
  34. Financial Analysis222▲ 19×3 topics
  35. Economic Impact Evaluation221▲ 120×1 topic
  36. Productivity Indicators221▲ 120×1 topic
  37. Healthcare Access220▲ 7.8×12 topics
  38. Community Health216▲ 13×7 topics
  39. Global Health216▲ 13×9 topics
  40. Healthcare Quality201▲ 19×5 topics

Size is fractional works in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of the side's work against its share of the world's. Each word links to the topic it comes from most.

How has their output grown?

Cuba has out-published Afghanistan every year since 1980.

still counting2.5k5k7.5kCuba1,961 in 2025Afghanistan1,716 in 20251990200020102020

Fractional works per year.

Their share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share, because all of science grows. Each line is a side as a percentage of every work published that year.

still counting0.10%0.20%0.30%Cuba0.033% in 2025Afghanistan0.029% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

The share of each side's works, year by year, that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. The average of all institutions is 10.0% (why not 10%).

still counting5%10%15%Afghanistan8.5% in 2025Cuba5.2% in 2025200020102020

A year with under 1% of the side's peak output is left out: a rate over a handful of papers says nothing. The latest years are still being cited.

Who holds more of the world's best institutions?

A country's average quality and the number of institutions it holds at the very top can disagree, and both are worth knowing. The counts are nested: an institution in the top 50 is also in the top 100.

Afghanistan 05 level0 Cuba
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5000
  4. 0In the top 1,0000
  5. #51Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#51

Institutions ranked on research quality, 2022-now. Elite capacity counts a country's institutions by their worldwide rank, weighted so a place at #1 counts for more than one at #480.

Which publishes more research, Afghanistan or Cuba?

Cuba publishes 2.0× as much research as Afghanistan in 2022-now (9.1k against 4.5k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Afghanistan or Cuba?

9.0% of Afghanistan's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 5.7% for Cuba.

Is Afghanistan or Cuba growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +155% against 2018-21 for Afghanistan, and -64% for Cuba.

Which has more open access research, Afghanistan or Cuba?

86% of Afghanistan's research is free to read, against 41% of Cuba's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Afghanistan or Cuba?

Afghanistan holds 0 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Cuba 0; in the top 1,000 it is 0 against 0.

Which institutions lead in each country?

The highest-ranked institutions on each side on research quality, 2022-now. The percentage is each institution's own top-10% rate: the share of its works that are among the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. Every figure stands alone, so they do not add up to 100%.

Afghanistan

  1. 1Kabul University8.3% top 10% · 1.2k works
  2. 2Kandahar University12.7% top 10% · 207 works
  3. 3Herat University10.0% top 10% · 340 works
  4. 4Kabul Education University7.5% top 10% · 249 works
  5. 5Nangarhar University8.9% top 10% · 332 works
  6. 6Kardan University13.9% top 10% · 145 works

Cuba

  1. 1University of Havana4.3% top 10% · 1.1k works
  2. 2Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de las Villas (UCLV)4.8% top 10% · 619 works
  3. 3University of Holguín4.9% top 10% · 478 works
  4. 4Instituto de Información Científica y Tecnológica31.1% top 10% · 315 works
  5. 5Universidad de Oriente4.1% top 10% · 374 works
  6. 6Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de la Habana6.3% top 10% · 452 works

The number is the rank inside the country. The track on each row is the top-10% rate; the tick is the average of all institutions, 10.0% (how it is set): teal above it, red below. The ranking is the quality score, which compares the rate with what each institution's own topics predict and adds a small reward for size, so the rates do not fall in order.

Who are the top researchers on each side?

The most cited researchers on each side, among those ranked.

Afghanistan

  1. 1 Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai #146,569 worldwide 9.4k citations · 116 works
  2. 2 Ahmad Shah Irshad #157,819 worldwide 648 citations · 45 works
  3. 3 Sajid Ullah #165,934 worldwide 561 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Sayeed Naqibullah Orfan #191,532 worldwide 523 citations · 37 works
  5. 5 Abdul Qawi Noori #209,787 worldwide 484 citations · 30 works

Cuba

  1. 1 Arian Abrahantes Quintana #137,417 worldwide 8k citations · 36 works
  2. 2 Juan J. Llibre Rodríguez #235,268 worldwide 9k citations · 236 works
  3. 3 Arturo Escobar #293,267 worldwide 29k citations · 386 works
  4. 4 Esteban Rodríguez Torres #315,225 worldwide 361 citations · 40 works
  5. 5 Pedro Antonio Valdes-Sosa #364,245 worldwide 15k citations · 440 works