Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Compare · Countries

Colombia vs Puerto Rico

On research quality in 2022-now, Colombia ranks #59 in the world and Puerto Rico #62, of 189 countries. Colombia stands higher in 18 of the 23 fields both publish in, Puerto Rico in 5.

Research profiles alike: 0.46similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

Compare other countries
vs

Colombia

World rank, 2022-now
#59
#47 all time
Works, 2022-now
87k
fractional
Top-10% rate
7.4%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
72%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Life-span and Life-course Studies, Horticulture, General Social Sciences.

Puerto Rico

World rank, 2022-now
#62
#64 all time
Works, 2022-now
7.4k
fractional
Top-10% rate
7.8%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
44%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Microbiology, General Psychology, Horticulture.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Puerto Rico leads on 4 of 9 measures: top-10% rate, citations per work, international co-authorship and growth. Colombia leads on 3 of 9 measures: research quality, output and open access. The two are level on excellence for its fields and institutions in the world top 100.

Colombia 32 level4 Puerto Rico
  1. #59Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#62
  2. 0.70×Excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.71×
  3. 87kOutputfractional works, 2022-now7.4k
  4. 7.4%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited7.8%
  5. 5.3Citations per workall time, per fractional work15.2
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 72%Open accessof its works free to read, all time44%
  8. 18%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time39%
  9. -5%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+3%

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?

Colombia stands higher in 18 of 23 fields, Puerto Rico in 5. Colombia leads most in Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#48 against #81); Puerto Rico leads most in Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (#41 against #68). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Colombia 185 Puerto Rico
  1. #48Agricultural and Biological Sciences#81
  2. #52Arts and Humanities#62
  3. #68Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#41
  4. #53Business, Management and Accounting-
  5. #58Chemistry-
  6. #63Computer Science#67
  7. #56Decision Sciences-
  8. #43Dentistry-
  9. #44Earth and Planetary Sciences-
  10. #54Economics, Econometrics and Finance-
  11. #52Energy-
  12. #59Engineering#57
  13. #41Environmental Science#63
  14. #54Health Professions#49
  15. #53Immunology and Microbiology-
  16. #76Materials Science-
  17. #59Mathematics-
  18. #57Medicine#52
  19. #52Neuroscience-
  20. #52Nursing-
  21. #53Physics and Astronomy-
  22. #54Psychology#53
  23. #39Social Sciences#64

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 Colombia rankPuerto Rico rank Colombia top 10%Puerto Rico top 10% Colombia worksPuerto Rico works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #48 #81 7.6% 7.2% 6.4k 314
Arts and Humanities #52 #62 8.7% 8.7% 2.5k 251
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #68 #41 4.9% 9.1% 2.7k 634
Business, Management and Accounting #53 - 9.5% - 3.6k -
Chemistry #58 - 7.3% - 638 -
Computer Science #63 #67 7.4% 5.7% 4.6k 294
Decision Sciences #56 - 9.3% - 599 -
Dentistry #43 - 7.3% - 427 -
Earth and Planetary Sciences #44 - 6.2% - 1.2k -
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #54 - 8.8% - 2.9k -
Energy #52 - 9.5% - 942 -
Engineering #59 #57 6.0% 7.2% 6.6k 560
Environmental Science #41 #63 6.8% 6.7% 5.9k 361
Health Professions #54 #49 7.1% 10.5% 3.7k 256
Immunology and Microbiology #53 - 5.5% - 804 -
Materials Science #76 - 4.0% - 1.1k -
Mathematics #59 - 6.0% - 695 -
Medicine #57 #52 5.0% 7.2% 17k 2.1k
Neuroscience #52 - 5.5% - 788 -
Nursing #52 - 5.7% - 388 -
Physics and Astronomy #53 - 4.6% - 789 -
Psychology #54 #53 7.1% 5.4% 3.4k 318
Social Sciences #39 #64 10.6% 8.9% 19k 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.

Colombia

▲ 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. Education7,314▲ 4.4×152 topics
  2. Epidemiology5,438▲ 1.41×138 topics
  3. Sustainability4,882▲ 2.1×130 topics
  4. Globalization4,810▲ 2.5×172 topics
  5. Climate Change4,049▲ 1.54×128 topics
  6. Innovation3,967▲ 4.0×82 topics
  7. Public Health3,428▲ 2.4×75 topics
  8. Human Rights3,308▲ 3.3×86 topics
  9. Sustainable Development2,983▲ 1.97×107 topics
  10. Latin America2,901▲ 16×23 topics
  11. Educational Technology2,571▲ 2.2×47 topics
  12. Mental Health2,476▲ 1.79×48 topics
  13. Health Promotion2,470▲ 8.1×18 topics
  14. Digital Marketing2,451▲ 6.5×6 topics
  15. Teacher Training2,445▲ 4.1×28 topics
  16. Knowledge Management2,386▲ 4.4×42 topics
  17. Social Responsibility2,274▲ 10×13 topics
  18. Small and Medium Enterprises2,224▲ 13×10 topics
  19. Competitiveness2,221▲ 29×8 topics
  20. E-Learning2,139▲ 2.3×25 topics
  21. Biodiversity1,978▲ 2.7×37 topics
  22. Urban Development1,926▲ 5.6×21 topics
  23. Pedagogy1,924▲ 4.0×26 topics
  24. Economic Impact1,920▲ 3.7×13 topics
  25. Innovation Ecosystems1,883▲ 19×4 topics
  26. Public Policy1,847▲ 4.0×34 topics
  27. Nutrition1,794▲ 4.2×18 topics
  28. Globalization Effects1,727▲ 26×3 topics
  29. Tourism Management1,719▲ 25×2 topics
  30. City Branding1,716▲ 29×1 topic
  31. Psychopharmacology Education1,716▲ 29×1 topic
  32. Social Impact1,687▲ 4.5×24 topics
  33. Communication1,663▲ 5.5×23 topics
  34. Community Participation1,609▲ 4.7×16 topics
  35. Inclusive Education1,570▲ 4.5×19 topics
  36. Rural Development1,502▲ 4.5×22 topics
  37. Distance Learning1,493▲ 4.4×13 topics
  38. Colombia1,408▲ 86×2 topics
  39. Violence1,246▲ 8.8×14 topics
  40. University Students1,214▲ 22×2 topics

Puerto Rico

▲ 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. Epidemiology612▲ 1.78×138 topics
  2. Education265▲ 1.78×109 topics
  3. Climate Change257◆ 1.09×104 topics
  4. Inflammation234▲ 1.27×83 topics
  5. Mental Health222▲ 1.79×45 topics
  6. Public Health220▲ 1.75×70 topics
  7. Globalization209▲ 1.23×131 topics
  8. Sustainability206◆ 0.98×103 topics
  9. Quality of Life203▲ 1.63×60 topics
  10. Cancer185▲ 1.59×57 topics
  11. COVID-19172▲ 1.54×31 topics
  12. Risk Factors166▲ 1.74×37 topics
  13. Treatment161▲ 1.53×52 topics
  14. Oxidative Stress158◆ 1.11×62 topics
  15. Innovation142▲ 1.59×58 topics
  16. Diagnosis142▲ 1.76×41 topics
  17. Depression142▲ 1.86×26 topics
  18. Educational Technology130▲ 1.28×40 topics
  19. Cardiovascular Disease119▲ 1.20×38 topics
  20. Healthcare118▲ 1.20×35 topics
  21. Identity117▲ 1.87×60 topics
  22. Gender110▲ 2.4×43 topics
  23. Chemotherapy110▲ 1.80×25 topics
  24. E-Learning110▲ 1.32×23 topics
  25. Immunotherapy110▲ 1.76×19 topics
  26. Metabolic Syndrome105▲ 1.50×24 topics
  27. Genetics105▲ 1.72×27 topics
  28. Teacher Training95▲ 1.79×23 topics
  29. Global Burden94▲ 1.99×12 topics
  30. Literature91▲ 1.93×43 topics
  31. Distance Learning86▲ 2.9×12 topics
  32. Health Promotion84▲ 3.1×17 topics
  33. Latin America84▲ 5.1×22 topics
  34. Pedagogy84▲ 1.93×25 topics
  35. Colonialism83▲ 2.0×40 topics
  36. Resilience83▲ 1.95×17 topics
  37. Genetic Mutations82▲ 2.2×23 topics
  38. Cancer Incidence63▲ 5.3×4 topics
  39. Human Papillomavirus51▲ 4.8×3 topics
  40. Virtual Teaching41▲ 8.8×1 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?

Colombia has out-published Puerto Rico every year since 1980.

still counting10k20k30kColombia23k in 2025Puerto Rico2,147 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 counting0.20%0.40%0.60%Colombia0.38% in 2025Puerto Rico0.036% 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%Puerto Rico7.9% in 2025Colombia7.3% 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.

Colombia 03 level2 Puerto Rico
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5000
  4. 0In the top 1,0001
  5. #51Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#40

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, Colombia or Puerto Rico?

Colombia publishes 11.7× as much research as Puerto Rico in 2022-now (87k against 7.4k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Colombia or Puerto Rico?

7.8% of Puerto Rico's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 7.4% for Colombia.

Is Colombia or Puerto Rico growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +3% against 2018-21 for Puerto Rico, and -5% for Colombia.

Which has more open access research, Colombia or Puerto Rico?

72% of Colombia's research is free to read, against 44% of Puerto Rico's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Colombia or Puerto Rico?

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

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%.

Colombia

  1. 1Universidad de Antioquia7.8% top 10% · 5k works
  2. 2Universidad del Rosario11.3% top 10% · 1.5k works
  3. 3Universidad del Valle6.4% top 10% · 2.8k works
  4. 4Universidad de La Sabana10.4% top 10% · 1.2k works
  5. 5Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas6.8% top 10% · 1.4k works
  6. 6Universidad de Ibagué0.7% top 10% · 1.8k works

Puerto Rico

  1. 1National University College17.6% top 10% · 927 works
  2. 2Universidad Metropolitana15.8% top 10% · 332 works
  3. 3Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico7.6% top 10% · 712 works
  4. 4University of Puerto Rico System7.3% top 10% · 1k works
  5. 5University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras5.9% top 10% · 577 works
  6. 6Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico3.7% top 10% · 338 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.

Colombia

  1. 1 J. C. Sanabria #4,579 worldwide 63k citations · 605 works
  2. 2 Carlos Andrés Castañeda-Orjuela #12,642 worldwide 236k citations · 248 works
  3. 3 Stijn Hantson #16,049 worldwide 9.4k citations · 203 works
  4. 4 D. J. Karmgard #18,328 worldwide 23k citations · 315 works
  5. 5 Luis Felipe Reyes #26,576 worldwide 33k citations · 298 works

Puerto Rico

  1. 1 Justin Paul #306 worldwide 36k citations · 297 works
  2. 2 T. Mitchell Aide #13,830 worldwide 21k citations · 184 works
  3. 3 Jess K. Zimmerman #21,938 worldwide 19k citations · 279 works
  4. 4 Zhongfang Chen #23,734 worldwide 43k citations · 462 works
  5. 5 Gregory J. Quirk #27,119 worldwide 32k citations · 173 works