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Iran vs Mexico

On research quality in 2022-now, Mexico ranks #42 in the world and Iran #45, of 189 countries. Iran stands higher in 14 of the 26 fields both publish in, Mexico in 12.

Research profiles alike: -0.27different shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Iran

World rank, 2022-now
#45
#43 all time
Works, 2022-now
268k
fractional
Top-10% rate
9.4%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
46%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Research and Theory, Molecular Medicine, Filtration and Separation.

Mexico

World rank, 2022-now
#42
#39 all time
Works, 2022-now
177k
fractional
Top-10% rate
5.9%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
52%
of its works free to read

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

Who leads, measure by measure?

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

Iran 41 level4 Mexico
  1. #45Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#42
  2. 0.85×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.61×
  3. 268kOutputfractional works, 2022-now177k
  4. 9.4%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited5.9%
  5. 14.5Citations per workall time, per fractional work9.1
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 46%Open accessof its works free to read, all time52%
  8. 13%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time19%
  9. -17%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+11%

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?

Iran stands higher in 14 of 26 fields, Mexico in 12. Iran leads most in Energy (#11 against #49); Mexico leads most in Arts and Humanities (#38 against #69). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Iran 1412 Mexico
  1. #45Agricultural and Biological Sciences#36
  2. #69Arts and Humanities#38
  3. #55Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#43
  4. #57Business, Management and Accounting#48
  5. #26Chemical Engineering#39
  6. #30Chemistry#43
  7. #36Computer Science#43
  8. #47Decision Sciences#55
  9. #36Dentistry#41
  10. #38Earth and Planetary Sciences#43
  11. #71Economics, Econometrics and Finance#49
  12. #11Energy#49
  13. #22Engineering#50
  14. #33Environmental Science#37
  15. #47Health Professions#41
  16. #54Immunology and Microbiology#48
  17. #36Materials Science#48
  18. #45Mathematics#47
  19. #67Medicine#42
  20. #42Neuroscience#36
  21. #47Nursing#48
  22. #27Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#32
  23. #41Physics and Astronomy#46
  24. #60Psychology#45
  25. #76Social Sciences#35
  26. #25Veterinary#23

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 Iran rankMexico rank Iran top 10%Mexico top 10% Iran worksMexico works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #45 #36 10.7% 6.6% 15k 17k
Arts and Humanities #69 #38 10.5% 7.8% 3.2k 6.8k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #55 #43 8.4% 5.7% 17k 8.6k
Business, Management and Accounting #57 #48 8.8% 6.3% 5.3k 5.2k
Chemical Engineering #26 #39 7.9% 3.1% 1.5k 438
Chemistry #30 #43 10.5% 5.2% 7.9k 2.2k
Computer Science #36 #43 11.6% 6.2% 13k 10k
Decision Sciences #47 #55 9.6% 6.1% 2.7k 939
Dentistry #36 #41 8.7% 4.5% 3k 815
Earth and Planetary Sciences #38 #43 10.1% 4.7% 2.6k 2.7k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #71 #49 7.1% 6.1% 3k 5.2k
Energy #11 #49 10.3% 4.4% 3.8k 1.7k
Engineering #22 #50 11.2% 4.6% 49k 15k
Environmental Science #33 #37 9.9% 5.8% 13k 12k
Health Professions #47 #41 10.7% 6.0% 7k 5.6k
Immunology and Microbiology #54 #48 8.3% 5.8% 3.5k 1.7k
Materials Science #36 #48 9.1% 3.7% 14k 5k
Mathematics #45 #47 7.8% 6.7% 4.1k 1.8k
Medicine #67 #42 8.2% 4.9% 60k 29k
Neuroscience #42 #36 7.1% 5.9% 4.9k 2.2k
Nursing #47 #48 9.2% 5.9% 2.4k 1.2k
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #27 #32 10.3% 6.2% 1.6k 604
Physics and Astronomy #41 #46 7.5% 4.5% 4.9k 3.2k
Psychology #60 #45 7.2% 5.4% 12k 5.8k
Social Sciences #76 #35 8.1% 7.4% 13k 32k
Veterinary #25 #23 8.1% 6.2% 437 338

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.

Iran

▲ 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. Epidemiology15k▲ 1.26×139 topics
  2. Inflammation9,380▲ 1.50×83 topics
  3. Machine Learning7,841▼ 0.80×97 topics
  4. Biomedical Applications7,578▲ 2.2×36 topics
  5. Nanoparticles7,578▲ 2.0×44 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress7,558▲ 1.56×63 topics
  7. Quality of Life7,073▲ 1.66×61 topics
  8. Cancer6,841▲ 1.73×59 topics
  9. Deep Learning6,820▼ 0.67×85 topics
  10. Mental Health6,664▲ 1.58×48 topics
  11. Depression6,460▲ 2.5×26 topics
  12. Climate Change6,426▼ 0.80×128 topics
  13. Nanomaterials6,398▲ 2.1×21 topics
  14. Cardiovascular Disease5,268▲ 1.57×39 topics
  15. Environmental Impact5,204◆ 1.04×73 topics
  16. Antioxidant5,082▲ 2.5×51 topics
  17. Renewable Energy5,075▲ 1.19×61 topics
  18. Drug Delivery4,938▲ 3.1×16 topics
  19. Nanocomposites4,905▲ 2.1×22 topics
  20. Mechanical Properties4,612▲ 1.60×39 topics
  21. Tissue Engineering4,586▲ 2.6×13 topics
  22. Graphene4,490▲ 2.3×12 topics
  23. COVID-194,287◆ 1.12×34 topics
  24. Social Support4,224▲ 2.7×20 topics
  25. Metabolic Syndrome4,106▲ 1.72×24 topics
  26. Treatment3,983◆ 1.11×52 topics
  27. Catalysis3,957▲ 2.0×29 topics
  28. Pandemic3,667▲ 1.26×14 topics
  29. Stress3,476▲ 3.2×11 topics
  30. Toxicity3,284▲ 2.6×20 topics
  31. Obesity3,279▲ 1.45×29 topics
  32. Self-Efficacy3,248▲ 4.2×11 topics
  33. Antioxidant Activity3,120▲ 1.70×32 topics
  34. Cancer Therapy3,095▲ 1.85×20 topics
  35. Anxiety2,756▲ 1.97×12 topics
  36. Carbon Nanotubes2,542▲ 2.6×9 topics
  37. Elderly2,301▲ 3.2×8 topics
  38. Nursing2,113▲ 3.8×8 topics
  39. Educational Achievement1,862▲ 11×1 topic
  40. Job Stress1,862▲ 11×1 topic

Mexico

▲ 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. Education10k▲ 3.0×158 topics
  2. Sustainability10k▲ 2.1×137 topics
  3. Climate Change9,399▲ 1.70×130 topics
  4. Globalization8,952▲ 2.2×184 topics
  5. Epidemiology8,618◆ 1.06×140 topics
  6. Public Health6,974▲ 2.4×77 topics
  7. Innovation6,048▲ 2.9×90 topics
  8. Environmental Impact5,303▲ 1.52×72 topics
  9. Mental Health4,976▲ 1.71×48 topics
  10. Nutrition4,708▲ 5.2×19 topics
  11. Urban Development4,611▲ 6.4×21 topics
  12. COVID-194,573▲ 1.73×34 topics
  13. Latin America4,530▲ 12×23 topics
  14. Knowledge Management4,360▲ 3.9×42 topics
  15. Digital Marketing4,170▲ 5.3×6 topics
  16. Biodiversity4,105▲ 2.6×38 topics
  17. Human Rights4,091▲ 1.96×88 topics
  18. E-Learning3,984▲ 2.0×26 topics
  19. Health Promotion3,790▲ 5.9×18 topics
  20. Pedagogy3,573▲ 3.5×30 topics
  21. Small and Medium Enterprises3,547▲ 9.8×10 topics
  22. Community Participation3,536▲ 4.9×16 topics
  23. Teacher Training3,484▲ 2.8×30 topics
  24. Social Responsibility3,335▲ 7.1×14 topics
  25. Rural Development3,303▲ 4.7×23 topics
  26. Public Policy3,248▲ 3.4×31 topics
  27. Cultural Heritage3,182▲ 2.9×40 topics
  28. Innovation Ecosystems3,120▲ 15×4 topics
  29. Social Movements3,068▲ 5.1×33 topics
  30. Distance Learning3,050▲ 4.3×14 topics
  31. Communication2,849▲ 4.4×25 topics
  32. Globalization Effects2,796▲ 20×3 topics
  33. Tourism Management2,782▲ 20×2 topics
  34. City Branding2,776▲ 22×1 topic
  35. Psychopharmacology Education2,776▲ 22×1 topic
  36. Competitiveness2,753▲ 17×8 topics
  37. Sustainable Agriculture2,672▲ 4.2×18 topics
  38. University Students2,195▲ 19×2 topics
  39. ICT2,041▲ 7.5×5 topics
  40. Digital Competence2,021▲ 11×4 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?

Iran has out-published Mexico every year since 2008, when it overtook it.

still counting50k100kIran69k in 2025Mexico49k 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%Iran1.2% in 2025Mexico0.82% 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%Iran9.9% in 2025Mexico6.1% 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.

Iran 14 level0 Mexico
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5000
  4. 1In the top 1,0001
  5. #45Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#50

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, Iran or Mexico?

Iran publishes 1.5× as much research as Mexico in 2022-now (268k against 177k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Iran or Mexico?

9.4% of Iran's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 5.9% for Mexico.

Is Iran or Mexico growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +11% against 2018-21 for Mexico, and -17% for Iran.

Which has more open access research, Iran or Mexico?

52% of Mexico's research is free to read, against 46% of Iran's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Iran or Mexico?

Iran holds 0 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Mexico 0; in the top 1,000 it is 1 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%.

Iran

  1. 1University of Tehran11.7% top 10% · 12k works
  2. 2Sharif University of Technology11.0% top 10% · 4.2k works
  3. 3Tarbiat Modares University10.3% top 10% · 6k works
  4. 4Shahid Beheshti University9.6% top 10% · 4.9k works
  5. 5Iran University of Science and Technology13.9% top 10% · 5.6k works
  6. 6Amirkabir University of Technology11.7% top 10% · 5.2k works

Mexico

  1. 1Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México6.0% top 10% · 21k works
  2. 2Universidad del Noreste6.8% top 10% · 1.9k works
  3. 3Tecnológico de Monterrey11.7% top 10% · 5.5k works
  4. 4Universidad Internacional9.1% top 10% · 1.2k works
  5. 5Ibero American University7.6% top 10% · 1.5k works
  6. 6Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Xalapa6.2% top 10% · 1.3k 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.

Iran

  1. 1 Ali Derakhshan #555 worldwide 12k citations · 318 works
  2. 2 Jalal Arabloo #591 worldwide 173k citations · 286 works
  3. 3 Sadaf Ghajarieh Sepanlou #1,137 worldwide 282k citations · 280 works
  4. 4 Mortaza Aghbashlo #1,278 worldwide 27k citations · 380 works
  5. 5 Nima Jafari Navimipour #1,362 worldwide 14k citations · 246 works

Mexico

  1. 1 I. Maldonado Cervantes #1,124 worldwide 25k citations · 196 works
  2. 2 Mostafa Hajiaghaei–Keshteli #1,732 worldwide 11k citations · 222 works
  3. 3 Matthew Paul Reynolds #3,407 worldwide 42k citations · 465 works
  4. 4 Ismael Campos‐Nonato #4,620 worldwide 168k citations · 131 works
  5. 5 Daniel Díaz #7,158 worldwide 127k citations · 198 works