Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Compare · Countries

China vs Singapore

On research quality in 2022-now, China ranks #2 in the world and Singapore #13, of 189 countries. China stands higher in 26 of the 26 fields both publish in, Singapore in 0.

Research profiles alike: 0.56similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

Compare other countries
vs

China

World rank, 2022-now
#2
#2 all time
Works, 2022-now
4M
fractional
Top-10% rate
13.3%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
30%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: General Engineering, Acoustics and Ultrasonics, Catalysis.

Singapore

World rank, 2022-now
#13
#11 all time
Works, 2022-now
70k
fractional
Top-10% rate
16.7%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
33%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Health Informatics, Hardware and Architecture, Acoustics and Ultrasonics.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Singapore leads on 5 of 9 measures: excellence for its fields, top-10% rate, citations per work, open access and international co-authorship. China leads on 4 of 9 measures: research quality, output, institutions in the world top 100 and growth.

China 45 Singapore
  1. #2Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#13
  2. 1.20×Excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected1.42×
  3. 4MOutputfractional works, 2022-now70k
  4. 13.3%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited16.7%
  5. 14.0Citations per workall time, per fractional work30.0
  6. 31World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1002
  7. 30%Open accessof its works free to read, all time33%
  8. 12%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time34%
  9. +62%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+7%

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?

China stands higher in 26 of 26 fields, Singapore in 0. China leads most in Dentistry (#1 against #20). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

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

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 China rankSingapore rank China top 10%Singapore top 10% China worksSingapore works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #1 #20 17.3% 17.3% 157k 1.1k
Arts and Humanities #6 #29 14.8% 16.9% 24k 892
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #2 #14 12.4% 15.2% 297k 3.7k
Business, Management and Accounting #2 #17 14.1% 14.4% 67k 1.6k
Chemical Engineering #1 #8 13.2% 20.9% 27k 311
Chemistry #1 #9 13.0% 18.6% 98k 1.1k
Computer Science #2 #9 11.7% 18.4% 406k 9.1k
Decision Sciences #2 #15 13.4% 16.3% 31k 724
Dentistry #1 #20 18.1% 16.6% 9.7k 224
Earth and Planetary Sciences #2 #21 12.7% 20.0% 84k 594
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #2 #14 15.0% 12.8% 55k 1.3k
Energy #1 #5 12.2% 19.7% 70k 797
Engineering #1 #6 12.9% 19.3% 1.1M 14k
Environmental Science #1 #15 13.9% 17.1% 238k 2.3k
Health Professions #2 #15 18.2% 17.5% 27k 1.5k
Immunology and Microbiology #2 #13 12.3% 14.8% 48k 624
Materials Science #1 #5 13.0% 19.0% 275k 3k
Mathematics #3 #20 11.1% 12.2% 38k 592
Medicine #2 #15 14.0% 14.1% 583k 14k
Neuroscience #2 #15 13.1% 16.3% 62k 1.2k
Nursing #1 #14 17.8% 16.7% 17k 236
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #1 - 15.8% - 15k -
Physics and Astronomy #2 #17 11.6% 15.7% 102k 1.7k
Psychology #2 #15 16.6% 16.0% 54k 2.2k
Social Sciences #2 #16 14.5% 15.6% 124k 6.2k
Veterinary #2 - 20.0% - 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.

China

▲ 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. Deep Learning294k▲ 1.85×85 topics
  2. Machine Learning186k▲ 1.21×97 topics
  3. Neural Networks133k▲ 1.87×42 topics
  4. Inflammation123k▲ 1.25×83 topics
  5. Epidemiology112k▼ 0.61×140 topics
  6. Climate Change110k◆ 0.87×132 topics
  7. Cancer109k▲ 1.76×59 topics
  8. Nanoparticles103k▲ 1.77×44 topics
  9. Nanomaterials102k▲ 2.1×21 topics
  10. Biomedical Applications100k▲ 1.84×36 topics
  11. Oxidative Stress100k▲ 1.31×63 topics
  12. Remote Sensing87k▲ 1.55×42 topics
  13. Mechanical Properties87k▲ 1.92×39 topics
  14. Renewable Energy86k▲ 1.29×61 topics
  15. Environmental Impact86k◆ 1.09×74 topics
  16. Energy Storage78k▲ 2.6×13 topics
  17. Graphene72k▲ 2.3×12 topics
  18. Nanocomposites71k▲ 1.95×22 topics
  19. Catalysis69k▲ 2.2×29 topics
  20. Convolutional Neural Networks63k▲ 1.87×14 topics
  21. Energy Efficiency59k▲ 1.39×46 topics
  22. Gene Expression57k▲ 1.96×20 topics
  23. Internet of Things55k▲ 1.39×33 topics
  24. Metal-Organic Frameworks53k▲ 2.8×6 topics
  25. Cathode Materials53k▲ 3.0×3 topics
  26. Microstructure51k▲ 2.1×19 topics
  27. Water Splitting46k▲ 2.7×4 topics
  28. Drug Delivery46k▲ 1.81×16 topics
  29. Lithium-ion Batteries43k▲ 2.3×4 topics
  30. Biosensors43k▲ 1.91×12 topics
  31. Tumor Microenvironment43k▲ 2.1×8 topics
  32. Wireless Sensor Networks39k▲ 1.90×23 topics
  33. Semiconductor37k▲ 2.5×7 topics
  34. Electrocatalysis37k▲ 2.8×5 topics
  35. Rechargeable Batteries36k▲ 3.0×2 topics
  36. Reactive Oxygen Species36k▲ 1.90×14 topics
  37. Smart Grid34k▲ 2.1×10 topics
  38. Battery Technology33k▲ 2.6×3 topics
  39. Hydrogen Production31k▲ 2.5×6 topics
  40. CO2 Reduction29k▲ 2.9×2 topics

Singapore

▲ 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. Deep Learning5,202▲ 1.91×85 topics
  2. Machine Learning3,492▲ 1.33×97 topics
  3. Epidemiology3,267◆ 1.04×137 topics
  4. Neural Networks2,630▲ 2.2×40 topics
  5. Inflammation1,732◆ 1.03×83 topics
  6. Sustainability1,359▼ 0.71×122 topics
  7. Globalization1,296▼ 0.84×141 topics
  8. Biomedical Applications1,179▲ 1.26×36 topics
  9. Nanoparticles1,138◆ 1.15×44 topics
  10. Quality of Life1,134◆ 1.00×58 topics
  11. Artificial Intelligence1,038◆ 0.92×65 topics
  12. Healthcare988◆ 1.10×40 topics
  13. Public Health972▼ 0.85×72 topics
  14. Convolutional Neural Networks965▲ 1.68×14 topics
  15. Nanomaterials954▲ 1.16×21 topics
  16. Treatment951◆ 0.99×52 topics
  17. Cardiovascular Disease949◆ 1.06×39 topics
  18. Mechanical Properties890◆ 1.15×39 topics
  19. Security859▲ 1.63×28 topics
  20. Energy Efficiency849▲ 1.17×46 topics
  21. Risk Factors845◆ 0.97×37 topics
  22. Big Data843◆ 1.12×35 topics
  23. Energy Storage803▲ 1.57×13 topics
  24. Catalysis791▲ 1.51×29 topics
  25. Nanocomposites746▲ 1.20×22 topics
  26. Graphene733▲ 1.38×12 topics
  27. Tissue Engineering674▲ 1.41×13 topics
  28. Biosensors673▲ 1.74×12 topics
  29. Aging661▲ 1.54×19 topics
  30. Medical Imaging624▲ 1.50×9 topics
  31. Precision Medicine603▲ 1.54×8 topics
  32. Cathode Materials596▲ 1.95×3 topics
  33. Additive Manufacturing565▲ 2.3×8 topics
  34. Representation Learning507▲ 4.1×3 topics
  35. Unsupervised Learning478▲ 4.0×3 topics
  36. Semi-Supervised Learning415▲ 4.3×3 topics
  37. Authoritarianism333▲ 4.8×5 topics
  38. Social Cohesion283▲ 6.0×6 topics
  39. State Intervention282▲ 11×3 topics
  40. Singapore254▲ 37×1 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?

China has out-published Singapore every year since 1980.

still counting500k1M1.5MChina1.2M in 2025Singapore19k 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 counting10%20%30%China20% in 2025Singapore0.32% 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%Singapore15.6% in 2025China13.2% 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.

China 50 Singapore
  1. 14In the world top 502
  2. 31In the top 1002
  3. 120In the top 5003
  4. 243In the top 1,0006
  5. #2Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#15

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, China or Singapore?

China publishes 57.9× as much research as Singapore in 2022-now (4M against 70k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, China or Singapore?

16.7% of Singapore's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 13.3% for China.

Is China or Singapore growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +62% against 2018-21 for China, and +7% for Singapore.

Which has more open access research, China or Singapore?

33% of Singapore's research is free to read, against 30% of China's.

Which has more world-class institutions, China or Singapore?

China holds 31 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Singapore 2; in the top 1,000 it is 243 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%.

China

  1. 1Chinese Academy of Sciences15.2% top 10% · 167k works
  2. 2Tsinghua University16.6% top 10% · 48k works
  3. 3Peking University15.3% top 10% · 42k works
  4. 4Shanghai Jiao Tong University15.2% top 10% · 60k works
  5. 5Zhejiang University16.1% top 10% · 56k works
  6. 6University of Hong Kong18.4% top 10% · 19k works

Singapore

  1. 1National University of Singapore17.6% top 10% · 25k works
  2. 2Nanyang Technological University20.6% top 10% · 17k works
  3. 3Agency for Science, Technology and Research17.8% top 10% · 6.9k works
  4. 4Singapore University of Technology and Design18.2% top 10% · 1.9k works
  5. 5National University Health System18.2% top 10% · 1.3k works
  6. 6Singapore Management University16.9% top 10% · 2.2k 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.

China

  1. 1 Guangmin Zhou #16 worldwide 61k citations · 443 works
  2. 2 Shilong Piao #28 worldwide 114k citations · 791 works
  3. 3 Jiaguo Yu #35 worldwide 207k citations · 1,086 works
  4. 4 Caijun Shi #42 worldwide 52k citations · 448 works
  5. 5 Zirui Jia #48 worldwide 21k citations · 181 works

Singapore

  1. 1 Xiong Wen Lou #2 worldwide 155k citations · 583 works
  2. 2 Chen Change Loy #50 worldwide 86k citations · 611 works
  3. 3 Florent Ginhoux #118 worldwide 98k citations · 704 works
  4. 4 Kanyi Pu #240 worldwide 52k citations · 393 works
  5. 5 Cheng‐Wei Qiu #607 worldwide 67k citations · 973 works

Other comparisons

Compare any two