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Australia vs New Zealand

On research quality in 2022-now, Australia ranks #7 in the world and New Zealand #25, of 189 countries. Australia stands higher in 26 of the 26 fields both publish in, New Zealand in 0.

Research profiles alike: 0.85very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Australia

World rank, 2022-now
#7
#8 all time
Works, 2022-now
343k
fractional
Top-10% rate
15.0%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
40%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Research and Theory, Public Administration, Medical Terminology.

New Zealand

World rank, 2022-now
#25
#26 all time
Works, 2022-now
48k
fractional
Top-10% rate
12.0%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
37%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Public Administration, Equine, Medical Terminology.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Australia leads on 8 of 9 measures: research quality, citation excellence for its fields, output, top-10% rate, citations per work, institutions in the world top 100, open access and growth. New Zealand leads on none. The two are level on international co-authorship.

Australia 81 level0 New Zealand
  1. #7Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#25
  2. 1.29×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected1.05×
  3. 343kOutputfractional works, 2022-now48k
  4. 15.0%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited12.0%
  5. 28.5Citations per workall time, per fractional work26.5
  6. 5World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 40%Open accessof its works free to read, all time37%
  8. 26%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time26%
  9. -3%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change-6%

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, citation excellence and the top-10% rate are explained in the methodology.

Who leads in each field?

Australia stands higher in 26 of 26 fields, New Zealand in 0. Australia leads most in Energy (#6 against #35). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Australia 260 New Zealand
  1. #6Agricultural and Biological Sciences#26
  2. #9Arts and Humanities#31
  3. #8Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#27
  4. #8Business, Management and Accounting#23
  5. #5Chemical Engineering-
  6. #12Chemistry#25
  7. #6Computer Science#29
  8. #7Decision Sciences#29
  9. #8Dentistry#28
  10. #6Earth and Planetary Sciences#18
  11. #8Economics, Econometrics and Finance#28
  12. #6Energy#35
  13. #5Engineering#29
  14. #4Environmental Science#26
  15. #5Health Professions#27
  16. #7Immunology and Microbiology#27
  17. #6Materials Science#29
  18. #12Mathematics#35
  19. #9Medicine#24
  20. #9Neuroscience#28
  21. #7Nursing#27
  22. #9Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-
  23. #12Physics and Astronomy#34
  24. #5Psychology#22
  25. #7Social Sciences#30
  26. #6Veterinary-

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 Australia rankNew Zealand rank Australia top 10%New Zealand top 10% Australia worksNew Zealand works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #6 #26 15.4% 13.1% 12k 2.8k
Arts and Humanities #9 #31 14.3% 15.7% 9.7k 1.5k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #8 #27 13.0% 11.3% 16k 2.6k
Business, Management and Accounting #8 #23 16.3% 17.1% 9.8k 1.6k
Chemical Engineering #5 - 15.5% - 779 -
Chemistry #12 #25 12.8% 11.0% 2.8k 452
Computer Science #6 #29 16.7% 13.0% 20k 2.7k
Decision Sciences #7 #29 15.0% 12.0% 3.7k 566
Dentistry #8 #28 18.7% 15.3% 1.1k 205
Earth and Planetary Sciences #6 #18 14.0% 11.5% 6.3k 1.2k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #8 #28 12.4% 12.4% 8.1k 1.2k
Energy #6 #35 17.0% 13.0% 2.7k 261
Engineering #5 #29 16.2% 11.9% 37k 4.4k
Environmental Science #4 #26 14.3% 10.2% 21k 3.7k
Health Professions #5 #27 15.4% 11.4% 16k 2k
Immunology and Microbiology #7 #27 13.3% 12.0% 3.6k 393
Materials Science #6 #29 15.8% 11.8% 6.8k 701
Mathematics #12 #35 13.5% 9.3% 2.5k 385
Medicine #9 #24 14.0% 11.1% 80k 9.4k
Neuroscience #9 #28 12.8% 9.3% 7.1k 964
Nursing #7 #27 15.7% 13.2% 1.9k 355
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #9 - 14.2% - 814 -
Physics and Astronomy #12 #34 12.5% 10.1% 5.8k 624
Psychology #5 #22 16.5% 11.5% 18k 2.6k
Social Sciences #7 #30 16.0% 12.6% 47k 7.3k
Veterinary #6 - 14.8% - 738 -

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.

Australia

▲ 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. Epidemiology21k▲ 1.37×140 topics
  2. Climate Change15k▲ 1.45×132 topics
  3. Machine Learning11k▼ 0.86×97 topics
  4. Deep Learning11k▼ 0.79×85 topics
  5. Mental Health9,669▲ 1.74×48 topics
  6. Sustainability9,393◆ 0.99×140 topics
  7. Globalization9,017▲ 1.18×185 topics
  8. Public Health8,739▲ 1.54×77 topics
  9. Inflammation8,511◆ 1.03×83 topics
  10. Quality of Life8,357▲ 1.49×61 topics
  11. Risk Factors6,421▲ 1.50×37 topics
  12. Environmental Impact6,048◆ 0.91×74 topics
  13. Cardiovascular Disease5,888▲ 1.33×39 topics
  14. Depression5,660▲ 1.65×26 topics
  15. Treatment5,636▲ 1.19×52 topics
  16. Oxidative Stress5,147▼ 0.80×63 topics
  17. Healthcare5,064◆ 1.14×44 topics
  18. Social Media4,900◆ 0.91×41 topics
  19. Resilience4,114▲ 2.1×19 topics
  20. Metabolic Syndrome4,006▲ 1.27×24 topics
  21. Genetics3,863▲ 1.40×27 topics
  22. Biodiversity3,847▲ 1.30×38 topics
  23. Identity3,769▲ 1.34×79 topics
  24. Social Support3,667▲ 1.75×20 topics
  25. Mortality3,644▲ 1.65×13 topics
  26. Prevalence3,622▲ 2.3×15 topics
  27. Global Burden3,532▲ 1.66×12 topics
  28. Anxiety3,449▲ 1.86×12 topics
  29. Aging3,396▲ 1.60×19 topics
  30. Physical Activity3,364▲ 1.78×13 topics
  31. Ethics3,337▲ 1.69×62 topics
  32. Primary Care3,139▲ 2.2×15 topics
  33. Ethical Considerations3,109▲ 2.3×21 topics
  34. Adolescents3,045▲ 2.1×11 topics
  35. Neoliberalism2,940▲ 2.1×30 topics
  36. Health Equity2,880▲ 2.5×6 topics
  37. Vulnerability2,625▲ 2.9×9 topics
  38. Population Dynamics2,566▲ 2.6×13 topics
  39. Health Disparities2,466▲ 2.4×9 topics
  40. Decolonization1,706▲ 5.4×8 topics

New Zealand

▲ 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. Climate Change2,990▲ 2.0×120 topics
  2. Epidemiology2,618▲ 1.20×140 topics
  3. Sustainability1,660▲ 1.24×128 topics
  4. Globalization1,399▲ 1.30×155 topics
  5. Machine Learning1,285▼ 0.71×95 topics
  6. Mental Health1,185▲ 1.52×47 topics
  7. Deep Learning1,181▼ 0.63×83 topics
  8. Public Health1,150▲ 1.45×74 topics
  9. Inflammation1,100◆ 0.95×83 topics
  10. Environmental Impact1,039◆ 1.11×69 topics
  11. Quality of Life870◆ 1.10×60 topics
  12. Biodiversity807▲ 1.94×36 topics
  13. Resilience776▲ 2.9×18 topics
  14. Invasive Species743▲ 3.2×21 topics
  15. Risk Factors731▲ 1.22×37 topics
  16. Cardiovascular Disease700◆ 1.12×39 topics
  17. Vulnerability662▲ 5.2×9 topics
  18. Depression656▲ 1.37×26 topics
  19. Social Capital551▲ 1.94×20 topics
  20. Social Justice547▲ 1.68×49 topics
  21. Health Equity511▲ 3.2×6 topics
  22. Ecosystem Services508▲ 2.4×14 topics
  23. Conservation498▲ 2.1×24 topics
  24. Population Dynamics469▲ 3.3×13 topics
  25. Global Warming462▲ 1.98×15 topics
  26. Ethics460▲ 1.66×56 topics
  27. Decolonization456▲ 10×8 topics
  28. Primary Care444▲ 2.2×15 topics
  29. Neoliberalism437▲ 2.2×27 topics
  30. Ethical Considerations419▲ 2.2×19 topics
  31. Well-being404▲ 1.90×14 topics
  32. Biogeography358▲ 2.4×20 topics
  33. Habitat Fragmentation357▲ 3.0×5 topics
  34. Global Change354▲ 2.5×7 topics
  35. Reflective Practice326▲ 3.2×7 topics
  36. Settler Colonialism268▲ 12×2 topics
  37. Traditional Ecological Knowledge266▲ 11×2 topics
  38. Indigenous Knowledge Systems265▲ 15×3 topics
  39. Historical Trauma256▲ 31×1 topic
  40. Indigenous Health256▲ 31×1 topic

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?

Australia has out-published New Zealand every year since 1980.

still counting50k100kAustralia88k in 2025New Zealand12k 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 counting1.0%2.0%3.0%Australia1.5% in 2025New Zealand0.20% 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 counting10%20%Australia14.5% in 2025New Zealand12.1% 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.

Australia 50 New Zealand
  1. 3In the world top 500
  2. 5In the top 1000
  3. 19In the top 5001
  4. 35In the top 1,0006
  5. #6Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#25

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, Australia or New Zealand?

Australia publishes 7.1× as much research as New Zealand in 2022-now (343k against 48k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Australia or New Zealand?

15.0% of Australia's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 12.0% for New Zealand.

Is Australia or New Zealand growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was -3% against 2018-21 for Australia, and -6% for New Zealand.

Which has more open access research, Australia or New Zealand?

40% of Australia's research is free to read, against 37% of New Zealand's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Australia or New Zealand?

Australia holds 5 of the world's top 100 research institutions and New Zealand 0; in the top 1,000 it is 35 against 6.

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%.

Australia

  1. 1The University of Melbourne14.9% top 10% · 23k works
  2. 2UNSW Sydney15.7% top 10% · 19k works
  3. 3Monash University16.1% top 10% · 20k works
  4. 4The University of Queensland15.0% top 10% · 20k works
  5. 5The University of Sydney14.4% top 10% · 25k works
  6. 6Australian National University13.7% top 10% · 11k works

New Zealand

  1. 1University of Auckland13.6% top 10% · 11k works
  2. 2University of Otago11.4% top 10% · 6.2k works
  3. 3Victoria University of Wellington11.5% top 10% · 4.4k works
  4. 4University of Canterbury12.2% top 10% · 3.3k works
  5. 5Auckland University of Technology12.1% top 10% · 3.7k works
  6. 6Massey University13.3% top 10% · 3.7k 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.

Australia

  1. 1 Seyedali Mirjalili #9 worldwide 154k citations · 823 works
  2. 2 Weng Marc Lim #78 worldwide 42k citations · 417 works
  3. 3 Shulei Chou #90 worldwide 63k citations · 657 works
  4. 4 Shi‐Zhang Qiao #130 worldwide 159k citations · 811 works
  5. 5 X. J. Zhu #134 worldwide 95k citations · 301 works

New Zealand

  1. 1 Lawrence Jun Zhang #225 worldwide 13k citations · 435 works
  2. 2 Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse #3,932 worldwide 62k citations · 716 works
  3. 3 Simon J. Greenhill #4,052 worldwide 11k citations · 298 works
  4. 4 Valery L. Feigin #4,707 worldwide 341k citations · 657 works
  5. 5 Rod Ellis #4,784 worldwide 46k citations · 370 works

Other comparisons

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