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Iran vs South Korea

On research quality in 2022-now, South Korea ranks #14 in the world and Iran #45, of 189 countries. Iran stands higher in 0 of the 26 fields both publish in, South Korea in 26.

Research profiles alike: 0.79very similar 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.

South Korea

World rank, 2022-now
#14
#15 all time
Works, 2022-now
358k
fractional
Top-10% rate
10.5%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
43%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Leadership and Management, Polymers and Plastics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Who leads, measure by measure?

South Korea leads on 7 of 9 measures: research quality, citation excellence for its fields, output, top-10% rate, citations per work, international co-authorship and growth. Iran leads on 1 of 9 measures: open access. The two are level on institutions in the world top 100.

Iran 11 level7 South Korea
  1. #45Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#14
  2. 0.85×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.94×
  3. 268kOutputfractional works, 2022-now358k
  4. 9.4%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited10.5%
  5. 14.5Citations per workall time, per fractional work18.2
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 46%Open accessof its works free to read, all time43%
  8. 13%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time17%
  9. -17%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, citation excellence and the top-10% rate are explained in the methodology.

Who leads in each field?

Iran stands higher in 0 of 26 fields, South Korea in 26. South Korea leads most in Nursing (#6 against #47). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Iran 026 South Korea
  1. #45Agricultural and Biological Sciences#15
  2. #69Arts and Humanities#24
  3. #55Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#18
  4. #57Business, Management and Accounting#13
  5. #26Chemical Engineering#14
  6. #30Chemistry#10
  7. #36Computer Science#7
  8. #47Decision Sciences#12
  9. #36Dentistry#13
  10. #38Earth and Planetary Sciences#16
  11. #71Economics, Econometrics and Finance#15
  12. #11Energy#3
  13. #22Engineering#7
  14. #33Environmental Science#16
  15. #47Health Professions#14
  16. #54Immunology and Microbiology#19
  17. #36Materials Science#7
  18. #45Mathematics#8
  19. #67Medicine#14
  20. #42Neuroscience#11
  21. #47Nursing#6
  22. #27Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#5
  23. #41Physics and Astronomy#16
  24. #60Psychology#19
  25. #76Social Sciences#23
  26. #25Veterinary#20

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 rankSouth Korea rank Iran top 10%South Korea top 10% Iran worksSouth Korea works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #45 #15 10.7% 9.8% 15k 13k
Arts and Humanities #69 #24 10.5% 13.8% 3.2k 2.6k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #55 #18 8.4% 9.4% 17k 25k
Business, Management and Accounting #57 #13 8.8% 14.2% 5.3k 5.5k
Chemical Engineering #26 #14 7.9% 10.9% 1.5k 2.1k
Chemistry #30 #10 10.5% 10.3% 7.9k 5.3k
Computer Science #36 #7 11.6% 12.0% 13k 30k
Decision Sciences #47 #12 9.6% 14.1% 2.7k 2.5k
Dentistry #36 #13 8.7% 11.8% 3k 2.3k
Earth and Planetary Sciences #38 #16 10.1% 8.0% 2.6k 4.2k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #71 #15 7.1% 10.1% 3k 4.2k
Energy #11 #3 10.3% 9.4% 3.8k 4.8k
Engineering #22 #7 11.2% 10.6% 49k 78k
Environmental Science #33 #16 9.9% 9.3% 13k 15k
Health Professions #47 #14 10.7% 12.4% 7k 6.2k
Immunology and Microbiology #54 #19 8.3% 8.8% 3.5k 4k
Materials Science #36 #7 9.1% 10.0% 14k 22k
Mathematics #45 #8 7.8% 11.0% 4.1k 3.2k
Medicine #67 #14 8.2% 10.2% 60k 87k
Neuroscience #42 #11 7.1% 10.7% 4.9k 7.6k
Nursing #47 #6 9.2% 11.6% 2.4k 2.7k
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #27 #5 10.3% 10.2% 1.6k 1.7k
Physics and Astronomy #41 #16 7.5% 9.0% 4.9k 7.6k
Psychology #60 #19 7.2% 11.1% 12k 7.8k
Social Sciences #76 #23 8.1% 12.2% 13k 15k
Veterinary #25 #20 8.1% 9.3% 437 483

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

South Korea

▲ 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 Learning19k▲ 1.34×85 topics
  2. Epidemiology17k◆ 1.08×140 topics
  3. Inflammation13k▲ 1.46×83 topics
  4. Machine Learning13k◆ 0.93×97 topics
  5. Neural Networks9,068▲ 1.45×42 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress8,834▲ 1.33×63 topics
  7. Biomedical Applications8,345▲ 1.74×36 topics
  8. Nanomaterials8,320▲ 1.96×21 topics
  9. Cancer7,324▲ 1.34×59 topics
  10. Climate Change7,116▼ 0.65×131 topics
  11. Nanoparticles6,924▲ 1.36×44 topics
  12. Quality of Life6,876▲ 1.18×60 topics
  13. Energy Storage6,776▲ 2.6×13 topics
  14. Cardiovascular Disease6,255▲ 1.35×39 topics
  15. Nanocomposites5,958▲ 1.86×22 topics
  16. Environmental Impact5,782▼ 0.84×74 topics
  17. Graphene5,561▲ 2.0×12 topics
  18. Treatment5,456◆ 1.11×52 topics
  19. Cathode Materials5,347▲ 3.4×3 topics
  20. Tissue Engineering4,826▲ 1.96×13 topics
  21. Mechanical Properties4,572◆ 1.15×39 topics
  22. Energy Efficiency4,508▲ 1.20×46 topics
  23. Convolutional Neural Networks4,412▲ 1.50×14 topics
  24. Lithium-ion Batteries4,326▲ 2.6×4 topics
  25. Chemotherapy4,259▲ 1.48×25 topics
  26. Metabolic Syndrome4,209▲ 1.28×24 topics
  27. Metal-Organic Frameworks3,979▲ 2.4×6 topics
  28. Rechargeable Batteries3,606▲ 3.4×2 topics
  29. Biosensors3,421▲ 1.72×12 topics
  30. Nanostructures3,336▲ 2.0×17 topics
  31. Water Splitting3,319▲ 2.2×4 topics
  32. Semiconductors3,103▲ 2.6×6 topics
  33. Flexible Electronics2,974▲ 4.3×3 topics
  34. Nanocrystals2,774▲ 2.6×5 topics
  35. Self-Efficacy2,756▲ 2.6×11 topics
  36. Solar Cells2,495▲ 3.0×7 topics
  37. Energy Harvesting2,420▲ 3.3×3 topics
  38. Battery Materials2,322▲ 3.5×1 topic
  39. Nanostructured Anodes2,322▲ 3.5×1 topic
  40. Neuromorphic Computing2,178▲ 4.7×2 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?

South Korea has out-published Iran every year since 2021, when it overtook it.

still counting50k100kSouth Korea93k in 2025Iran69k 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%3.0%South Korea1.6% in 2025Iran1.2% 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%South Korea11.0% in 2025Iran9.9% 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 02 level3 South Korea
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5009
  4. 1In the top 1,00022
  5. #45Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#12

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 South Korea?

South Korea publishes 1.3× as much research as Iran in 2022-now (358k against 268k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Iran or South Korea?

10.5% of South Korea's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 9.4% for Iran.

Is Iran or South Korea growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +7% against 2018-21 for South Korea, and -17% for Iran.

Which has more open access research, Iran or South Korea?

46% of Iran's research is free to read, against 43% of South Korea's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Iran or South Korea?

Iran holds 0 of the world's top 100 research institutions and South Korea 0; in the top 1,000 it is 1 against 22.

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

South Korea

  1. 1Seoul National University11.1% top 10% · 24k works
  2. 2Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology14.1% top 10% · 9.8k works
  3. 3Yonsei University12.4% top 10% · 19k works
  4. 4Sungkyunkwan University12.0% top 10% · 14k works
  5. 5Korea University13.0% top 10% · 12k works
  6. 6Pohang University of Science and Technology13.4% top 10% · 4.4k 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

South Korea

  1. 1 Jaephil Cho #242 worldwide 73k citations · 550 works
  2. 2 Taeghwan Hyeon #270 worldwide 112k citations · 685 works
  3. 3 Yang‐Kook Sun #542 worldwide 98k citations · 1,172 works
  4. 4 Kisuk Kang #565 worldwide 55k citations · 492 works
  5. 5 Dae‐Hyeong Kim #606 worldwide 55k citations · 311 works

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