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Iceland vs Norway

On research quality in 2022-now, Norway ranks #21 in the world and Iceland #50, of 189 countries. Iceland stands higher in 0 of the 24 fields both publish in, Norway in 24.

Research profiles alike: 0.74very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Iceland

World rank, 2022-now
#50
#42 all time
Works, 2022-now
5.2k
fractional
Top-10% rate
10.0%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
46%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Chemical Health and Safety, Classics, Geophysics.

Norway

World rank, 2022-now
#21
#21 all time
Works, 2022-now
81k
fractional
Top-10% rate
12.8%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
47%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Public Administration, Research and Theory, Ocean Engineering.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Norway leads on 4 of 9 measures: research quality, excellence for its fields, output and top-10% rate. Iceland leads on 2 of 9 measures: international co-authorship and growth. The two are level on citations per work, institutions in the world top 100 and open access.

Iceland 23 level4 Norway
  1. #50Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#21
  2. 0.95×Excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected1.27×
  3. 5.2kOutputfractional works, 2022-now81k
  4. 10.0%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited12.8%
  5. 25.7Citations per workall time, per fractional work26.2
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 46%Open accessof its works free to read, all time47%
  8. 42%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time31%
  9. +11%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+4%

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?

Iceland stands higher in 0 of 24 fields, Norway in 24. Norway leads most in Computer Science (#22 against #69). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Iceland 024 Norway
  1. -Agricultural and Biological Sciences#27
  2. #40Arts and Humanities#17
  3. #37Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#23
  4. -Business, Management and Accounting#19
  5. -Chemical Engineering#23
  6. -Chemistry#34
  7. #69Computer Science#22
  8. -Decision Sciences#17
  9. -Dentistry#26
  10. #34Earth and Planetary Sciences#10
  11. -Economics, Econometrics and Finance#19
  12. -Energy#16
  13. #54Engineering#21
  14. #49Environmental Science#13
  15. -Health Professions#16
  16. -Immunology and Microbiology#21
  17. -Materials Science#24
  18. -Mathematics#23
  19. #40Medicine#19
  20. -Neuroscience#20
  21. -Nursing#26
  22. -Physics and Astronomy#24
  23. #41Psychology#14
  24. #55Social Sciences#15

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 Iceland rankNorway rank Iceland top 10%Norway top 10% Iceland worksNorway works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences - #27 - 12.7% - 2.2k
Arts and Humanities #40 #17 12.6% 14.9% 249 3.2k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #37 #23 12.4% 10.9% 228 3.3k
Business, Management and Accounting - #19 - 14.4% - 2.5k
Chemical Engineering - #23 - 8.5% - 238
Chemistry - #34 - 8.5% - 541
Computer Science #69 #22 5.8% 12.7% 255 5.1k
Decision Sciences - #17 - 13.0% - 1.2k
Dentistry - #26 - 13.2% - 273
Earth and Planetary Sciences #34 #10 11.0% 11.8% 221 2.6k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance - #19 - 13.1% - 1.7k
Energy - #16 - 11.6% - 710
Engineering #54 #21 11.3% 10.1% 443 11k
Environmental Science #49 #13 9.1% 11.2% 428 5.9k
Health Professions - #16 - 13.1% - 3.1k
Immunology and Microbiology - #21 - 12.2% - 773
Materials Science - #24 - 9.8% - 1.2k
Mathematics - #23 - 12.6% - 749
Medicine #40 #19 11.3% 14.0% 971 14k
Neuroscience - #20 - 11.1% - 1.4k
Nursing - #26 - 12.6% - 356
Physics and Astronomy - #24 - 10.2% - 1.3k
Psychology #41 #14 9.0% 13.7% 304 5.1k
Social Sciences #55 #15 9.1% 15.5% 831 13k

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.

Iceland

▲ 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 Change398▲ 2.5×100 topics
  2. Epidemiology292▲ 1.23×130 topics
  3. Sustainability196▲ 1.35×88 topics
  4. Globalization185▲ 1.58×95 topics
  5. Mental Health156▲ 1.83×41 topics
  6. Inflammation143◆ 1.13×76 topics
  7. Remote Sensing110▲ 1.52×31 topics
  8. Environmental Impact109◆ 1.08×52 topics
  9. Public Health104▲ 1.20×59 topics
  10. Quality of Life97◆ 1.13×52 topics
  11. Cardiovascular Disease96▲ 1.41×37 topics
  12. Treatment93▲ 1.29×49 topics
  13. Risk Factors87▲ 1.33×36 topics
  14. Depression87▲ 1.66×22 topics
  15. Biodiversity78▲ 1.72×34 topics
  16. Literature72▲ 2.2×37 topics
  17. Meta-Analysis67▲ 1.92×18 topics
  18. Resilience67▲ 2.3×17 topics
  19. Invasive Species66▲ 2.6×20 topics
  20. Religion64▲ 2.3×29 topics
  21. Prevalence63▲ 2.6×14 topics
  22. Arctic62▲ 9.4×4 topics
  23. Fisheries Sustainability60▲ 12×2 topics
  24. Labor Market58▲ 3.5×14 topics
  25. Governance56▲ 2.9×16 topics
  26. Aquaculture51▲ 3.4×8 topics
  27. International Relations49▲ 3.4×17 topics
  28. Hydrology45▲ 5.8×4 topics
  29. Plate Tectonics44▲ 4.9×3 topics
  30. Medieval43▲ 21×3 topics
  31. Financial Crisis41▲ 6.2×12 topics
  32. Holocene40▲ 6.0×3 topics
  33. Freshwater Biodiversity36▲ 9.9×2 topics
  34. Shipping35▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Banking Sector34▲ 43×3 topics
  36. Iceland34▲ 138×1 topic
  37. Socioeconomic Inequality34▲ 69×1 topic
  38. Oil and Gas33▲ 16×2 topics
  39. Maritime Transport33▲ 21×1 topic
  40. Northern Sea Route33▲ 21×1 topic

Norway

▲ 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 Change4,529▲ 1.81×130 topics
  2. Epidemiology3,392◆ 0.93×140 topics
  3. Sustainability2,832▲ 1.26×137 topics
  4. Machine Learning2,813◆ 0.92×97 topics
  5. Deep Learning2,229▼ 0.70×85 topics
  6. Globalization2,190▲ 1.21×181 topics
  7. Mental Health2,024▲ 1.54×48 topics
  8. Renewable Energy1,984▲ 1.49×61 topics
  9. Environmental Impact1,867▲ 1.19×74 topics
  10. Public Health1,651▲ 1.23×76 topics
  11. Inflammation1,586▼ 0.81×83 topics
  12. Education1,547◆ 0.98×157 topics
  13. Quality of Life1,464◆ 1.10×61 topics
  14. Remote Sensing1,286◆ 1.14×40 topics
  15. Depression1,172▲ 1.45×26 topics
  16. Cardiovascular Disease1,141◆ 1.09×39 topics
  17. Human Rights1,138▲ 1.21×88 topics
  18. Risk Factors1,114◆ 1.10×37 topics
  19. Ethics917▲ 1.97×59 topics
  20. Resilience899▲ 1.99×19 topics
  21. Democracy824▲ 2.6×30 topics
  22. Global Warming762▲ 1.94×16 topics
  23. Embodiment756▲ 4.4×7 topics
  24. Religion751▲ 1.76×43 topics
  25. Invasive Species740▲ 1.90×21 topics
  26. Well-being708▲ 1.98×14 topics
  27. Aquaculture699▲ 3.0×8 topics
  28. Tacit Knowledge638▲ 15×3 topics
  29. Arctic600▲ 5.9×4 topics
  30. Ethical Guidelines519▲ 11×4 topics
  31. Social Science508▲ 15×7 topics
  32. Ocean Circulation494▲ 3.9×3 topics
  33. Pragmatism481▲ 21×4 topics
  34. Dementia Care473▲ 42×2 topics
  35. Interactional Expertise460▲ 46×1 topic
  36. Technical Decision-making460▲ 46×1 topic
  37. Fisheries Sustainability459▲ 5.8×2 topics
  38. Constitutionalism432▲ 5.3×6 topics
  39. ECHR375▲ 12×1 topic
  40. European Legal Systems375▲ 12×1 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?

Norway has out-published Iceland every year since 1980.

still counting10k20k30kNorway20k in 2025Iceland1,335 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%Norway0.35% in 2025Iceland0.023% 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%Norway12.0% in 2025Iceland10.3% 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.

Iceland 02 level3 Norway
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5003
  4. 1In the top 1,0007
  5. #42Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#23

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, Iceland or Norway?

Norway publishes 15.6× as much research as Iceland in 2022-now (81k against 5.2k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Iceland or Norway?

12.8% of Norway's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 10.0% for Iceland.

Is Iceland or Norway growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +11% against 2018-21 for Iceland, and +4% for Norway.

Which has more open access research, Iceland or Norway?

47% of Norway's research is free to read, against 46% of Iceland's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Iceland or Norway?

Iceland holds 0 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Norway 0; in the top 1,000 it is 1 against 7.

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%.

Iceland

  1. 1University of Iceland10.7% top 10% · 2.7k works
  2. 2Reykjavík University13.8% top 10% · 690 works
  3. 3Directorate of Health4.1% top 10% · 610 works
  4. 4University of Akureyri7.6% top 10% · 236 works
  5. 5Matís (Iceland)3.4% top 10% · 84 works
  6. 6Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies8.9% top 10% · 70 works

Norway

  1. 1Norwegian University of Science and Technology13.6% top 10% · 12k works
  2. 2University of Oslo14.4% top 10% · 13k works
  3. 3University of Bergen13.1% top 10% · 6.5k works
  4. 4University of Stavanger14.0% top 10% · 3.2k works
  5. 5UiT The Arctic University of Norway12.1% top 10% · 3.7k works
  6. 6Norwegian Institute of Public Health15.2% top 10% · 1k 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.

Iceland

  1. 1 Unnur Arna Thorsteinsdottir #13 worldwide 144k citations · 597 works
  2. 2 Kāri Stefánsson #43 worldwide 211k citations · 1,140 works
  3. 3 Augustine Kong #84 worldwide 97k citations · 293 works
  4. 4 Guðmar Þorleifsson #122 worldwide 120k citations · 579 works
  5. 5 Daniel Fannar Gudbjartsson #133 worldwide 88k citations · 524 works

Norway

  1. 1 Amandeep Dhir #8 worldwide 33k citations · 319 works
  2. 2 Glen P. Peters #264 worldwide 69k citations · 451 works
  3. 3 Puneet Kaur #1,322 worldwide 18k citations · 209 works
  4. 4 Edvard Ingjald Moser #1,526 worldwide 53k citations · 437 works
  5. 5 Simon Elias Bibri #1,816 worldwide 12k citations · 146 works

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