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Belgium vs United Kingdom

On research quality in 2022-now, The United Kingdom ranks #4 in the world and Belgium #19, of 189 countries. Belgium stands higher in 0 of the 26 fields both publish in, the United Kingdom in 26.

Research profiles alike: 0.71very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Belgium

World rank, 2022-now
#19
#19 all time
Works, 2022-now
106k
fractional
Top-10% rate
11.6%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
43%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Medical Terminology, Equine, Insect Science.

United Kingdom

World rank, 2022-now
#4
#4 all time
Works, 2022-now
727k
fractional
Top-10% rate
13.2%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
37%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Medical Terminology, Classics, Space and Planetary Science.

Who leads, measure by measure?

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

Belgium 21 level6 United Kingdom
  1. #19Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#4
  2. 1.17×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected1.20×
  3. 106kOutputfractional works, 2022-now727k
  4. 11.6%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited13.2%
  5. 22.6Citations per workall time, per fractional work29.5
  6. 1World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1008
  7. 43%Open accessof its works free to read, all time37%
  8. 27%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time23%
  9. -13%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change-2%

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?

Belgium stands higher in 0 of 26 fields, United Kingdom in 26. The United Kingdom leads most in Veterinary (#3 against #14). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Belgium 026 United Kingdom
  1. #14Agricultural and Biological Sciences#4
  2. #15Arts and Humanities#3
  3. #19Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#4
  4. #21Business, Management and Accounting#4
  5. #15Chemical Engineering#3
  6. #20Chemistry#4
  7. #24Computer Science#4
  8. #18Decision Sciences#3
  9. #19Dentistry#4
  10. #20Earth and Planetary Sciences#3
  11. #18Economics, Econometrics and Finance#3
  12. #24Energy#4
  13. #18Engineering#3
  14. #17Environmental Science#5
  15. #19Health Professions#4
  16. #10Immunology and Microbiology#3
  17. #25Materials Science#3
  18. #19Mathematics#2
  19. #16Medicine#3
  20. #19Neuroscience#3
  21. #20Nursing#3
  22. #17Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#3
  23. #20Physics and Astronomy#4
  24. #20Psychology#3
  25. #20Social Sciences#3
  26. #14Veterinary#3

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 Belgium rankUnited Kingdom rank Belgium top 10%United Kingdom top 10% Belgium worksUnited Kingdom works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #14 #4 11.2% 13.8% 5.1k 16k
Arts and Humanities #15 #3 12.0% 13.5% 4.7k 36k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #19 #4 11.5% 12.8% 6.1k 36k
Business, Management and Accounting #21 #4 13.1% 16.0% 2.4k 21k
Chemical Engineering #15 #3 9.2% 10.9% 395 1.7k
Chemistry #20 #4 10.6% 12.1% 1.5k 7k
Computer Science #24 #4 9.5% 12.9% 5.9k 42k
Decision Sciences #18 #3 12.2% 13.4% 1k 8k
Dentistry #19 #4 16.8% 12.6% 419 2.8k
Earth and Planetary Sciences #20 #3 10.3% 13.2% 1.6k 12k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #18 #3 12.0% 12.8% 2.4k 21k
Energy #24 #4 9.3% 12.5% 645 4k
Engineering #18 #3 9.8% 12.5% 14k 77k
Environmental Science #17 #5 10.8% 13.2% 5.1k 30k
Health Professions #19 #4 12.1% 12.3% 2.9k 30k
Immunology and Microbiology #10 #3 14.1% 13.5% 1.3k 7.4k
Materials Science #25 #3 9.3% 11.8% 2.8k 13k
Mathematics #19 #2 11.1% 13.0% 1.4k 7.6k
Medicine #16 #3 13.1% 12.8% 23k 174k
Neuroscience #19 #3 10.9% 12.8% 2.4k 16k
Nursing #20 #3 13.7% 12.1% 456 3k
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #17 #3 10.1% 13.2% 264 1.7k
Physics and Astronomy #20 #4 11.0% 12.3% 2.8k 18k
Psychology #20 #3 11.2% 13.6% 3.9k 36k
Social Sciences #20 #3 12.3% 14.6% 13k 105k
Veterinary #14 #3 13.9% 14.1% 298 1.7k

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.

Belgium

▲ 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. Epidemiology5,676▲ 1.18×140 topics
  2. Climate Change3,571◆ 1.09×131 topics
  3. Globalization2,872▲ 1.21×182 topics
  4. Machine Learning2,752▼ 0.68×95 topics
  5. Sustainability2,563◆ 0.87×139 topics
  6. Deep Learning2,543▼ 0.61×84 topics
  7. Inflammation2,452◆ 0.95×83 topics
  8. Quality of Life2,117▲ 1.21×61 topics
  9. Public Health1,899◆ 1.08×76 topics
  10. Environmental Impact1,870◆ 0.91×73 topics
  11. Mental Health1,824◆ 1.06×48 topics
  12. Treatment1,666◆ 1.13×52 topics
  13. Oxidative Stress1,578▼ 0.79×63 topics
  14. Biodiversity1,547▲ 1.68×38 topics
  15. Human Rights1,377◆ 1.11×90 topics
  16. Cardiovascular Disease1,345◆ 0.98×39 topics
  17. Renewable Energy1,332▼ 0.76×61 topics
  18. Diagnosis1,313▲ 1.17×41 topics
  19. Invasive Species1,118▲ 2.2×21 topics
  20. Identity1,090▲ 1.25×79 topics
  21. Genetics1,056▲ 1.24×27 topics
  22. Gender1,049▲ 1.62×58 topics
  23. Management1,048◆ 1.09×40 topics
  24. Clinical Trials974▲ 1.21×19 topics
  25. Social Justice970▲ 1.35×55 topics
  26. Religion929▲ 1.66×43 topics
  27. Colonialism917▲ 1.60×51 topics
  28. Evolution878▲ 2.7×19 topics
  29. Ethics878▲ 1.44×62 topics
  30. Conservation875▲ 1.69×24 topics
  31. Democracy797▲ 1.89×30 topics
  32. Phylogeny787▲ 3.9×17 topics
  33. Community Engagement766▲ 1.95×21 topics
  34. European Union738▲ 2.7×29 topics
  35. Taxonomy679▲ 3.9×15 topics
  36. Biogeography664▲ 1.97×20 topics
  37. DNA Barcoding651▲ 3.1×9 topics
  38. Territorial Governance539▲ 3.9×4 topics
  39. Local Development510▲ 4.1×2 topics
  40. Institutionalization460▲ 4.1×5 topics

United Kingdom

▲ 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. Epidemiology42k▲ 1.28×140 topics
  2. Globalization23k▲ 1.42×186 topics
  3. Machine Learning23k▼ 0.83×97 topics
  4. Climate Change23k◆ 1.02×132 topics
  5. Deep Learning22k▼ 0.76×85 topics
  6. Public Health19k▲ 1.54×77 topics
  7. Inflammation18k◆ 1.01×83 topics
  8. Mental Health18k▲ 1.49×48 topics
  9. Sustainability17k▼ 0.85×140 topics
  10. Quality of Life17k▲ 1.40×61 topics
  11. Treatment13k▲ 1.29×52 topics
  12. Risk Factors12k▲ 1.32×37 topics
  13. Healthcare11k◆ 1.14×44 topics
  14. Identity11k▲ 1.79×80 topics
  15. Oxidative Stress10k▼ 0.77×63 topics
  16. Human Rights10k▲ 1.23×91 topics
  17. Cardiovascular Disease10k◆ 1.10×39 topics
  18. Depression10k▲ 1.39×26 topics
  19. COVID-1910k◆ 0.94×34 topics
  20. Gender9,693▲ 2.2×58 topics
  21. History9,285▲ 1.61×66 topics
  22. Diagnosis9,172▲ 1.19×41 topics
  23. Mortality8,660▲ 1.84×13 topics
  24. Genetics8,462▲ 1.44×27 topics
  25. Colonialism8,316▲ 2.1×52 topics
  26. Primary Care8,142▲ 2.6×15 topics
  27. Ethics8,125▲ 1.94×62 topics
  28. Nationalism7,909▲ 2.1×34 topics
  29. Economic Growth7,662◆ 1.13×38 topics
  30. Neoliberalism7,450▲ 2.5×30 topics
  31. Literature7,417▲ 1.63×64 topics
  32. Religion7,348▲ 1.91×43 topics
  33. Ethical Considerations6,913▲ 2.4×21 topics
  34. Resilience6,440▲ 1.58×19 topics
  35. Complications6,344▲ 1.54×17 topics
  36. Anxiety6,336▲ 1.61×12 topics
  37. Prevalence6,086▲ 1.80×15 topics
  38. Neuroscience5,356▲ 2.1×20 topics
  39. Feminism5,176▲ 2.1×27 topics
  40. Health Disparities4,977▲ 2.3×9 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?

The United Kingdom has out-published Belgium every year since 1980.

still counting100k200kUnited Kingdom190k in 2025Belgium27k 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 counting5.0%10%15%United Kingdom3.2% in 2025Belgium0.46% 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%United Kingdom12.3% in 2025Belgium11.0% 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.

Belgium 05 United Kingdom
  1. 0In the world top 505
  2. 1In the top 1008
  3. 6In the top 50035
  4. 9In the top 1,00063
  5. #17Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#3

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, Belgium or United Kingdom?

The United Kingdom publishes 6.9× as much research as Belgium in 2022-now (727k against 106k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Belgium or United Kingdom?

13.2% of the United Kingdom's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 11.6% for Belgium.

Is Belgium or United Kingdom growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was -2% against 2018-21 for the United Kingdom, and -13% for Belgium.

Which has more open access research, Belgium or United Kingdom?

43% of Belgium's research is free to read, against 37% of the United Kingdom's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Belgium or United Kingdom?

The United Kingdom holds 8 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Belgium 1; in the top 1,000 it is 63 against 9.

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%.

Belgium

  1. 1KU Leuven13.1% top 10% · 20k works
  2. 2Ghent University13.8% top 10% · 16k works
  3. 3University of Antwerp13.0% top 10% · 7.1k works
  4. 4UCLouvain10.1% top 10% · 7.4k works
  5. 5Vrije Universiteit Brussel13.0% top 10% · 6k works
  6. 6Université Libre de Bruxelles11.1% top 10% · 6.5k works

United Kingdom

  1. 1University of Oxford15.8% top 10% · 29k works
  2. 2University of Cambridge14.9% top 10% · 25k works
  3. 3University College London15.4% top 10% · 33k works
  4. 4Imperial College London14.7% top 10% · 21k works
  5. 5University of Edinburgh13.4% top 10% · 18k works
  6. 6University of Manchester13.5% top 10% · 17k 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.

Belgium

  1. 1 Jeroen Raes #1,855 worldwide 126k citations · 470 works
  2. 2 Sarah‐Maria Fendt #3,456 worldwide 20k citations · 242 works
  3. 3 M. Maes #3,749 worldwide 54k citations · 515 works
  4. 4 Mohamed Lamkanfi #4,281 worldwide 30k citations · 149 works
  5. 5 Diego G. Miralles #6,426 worldwide 38k citations · 485 works

United Kingdom

  1. 1 Sandro Tacchella #30 worldwide 21k citations · 500 works
  2. 2 Sam Abbott #39 worldwide 26k citations · 20,935 works
  3. 3 Sebastian Funk #64 worldwide 37k citations · 21,100 works
  4. 4 Terrie E. Moffitt #82 worldwide 195k citations · 924 works
  5. 5 Hannah Übler #91 worldwide 12k citations · 274 works

Other comparisons

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