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Iraq vs Saudi Arabia

On research quality in 2022-now, Saudi Arabia ranks #31 in the world and Iraq #187, of 189 countries. Iraq stands higher in 1 of the 26 fields both publish in, Saudi Arabia in 25.

Research profiles alike: 0.75very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Iraq

World rank, 2022-now
#187
#177 all time
Works, 2022-now
117k
fractional
Top-10% rate
4.7%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
78%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Drug Discovery, Numerical Analysis, Algebra and Number Theory.

Saudi Arabia

World rank, 2022-now
#31
#29 all time
Works, 2022-now
156k
fractional
Top-10% rate
14.4%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
57%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: General Dentistry, Orthodontics, Modeling and Simulation.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Saudi Arabia leads on 6 of 9 measures: research quality, citation excellence for its fields, output, top-10% rate, citations per work and international co-authorship. Iraq leads on 2 of 9 measures: open access and growth. The two are level on institutions in the world top 100.

Iraq 21 level6 Saudi Arabia
  1. #187Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#31
  2. 0.43×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected1.18×
  3. 117kOutputfractional works, 2022-now156k
  4. 4.7%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited14.4%
  5. 5.1Citations per workall time, per fractional work16.5
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 78%Open accessof its works free to read, all time57%
  8. 15%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time43%
  9. +87%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+72%

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?

Iraq stands higher in 1 of 26 fields, Saudi Arabia in 25. Saudi Arabia leads most in Computer Science (#26 against #125). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Iraq 125 Saudi Arabia
  1. #122Agricultural and Biological Sciences#31
  2. #103Arts and Humanities#47
  3. #103Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#32
  4. #108Business, Management and Accounting#28
  5. #43Chemical Engineering#18
  6. #68Chemistry#15
  7. #125Computer Science#26
  8. #76Decision Sciences#28
  9. #62Dentistry#24
  10. #78Earth and Planetary Sciences#24
  11. #107Economics, Econometrics and Finance#39
  12. #67Energy#20
  13. #106Engineering#24
  14. #120Environmental Science#30
  15. #105Health Professions#30
  16. #71Immunology and Microbiology#39
  17. #83Materials Science#20
  18. #80Mathematics#27
  19. #150Medicine#43
  20. #71Neuroscience#35
  21. #64Nursing#30
  22. #44Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#22
  23. #75Physics and Astronomy#39
  24. #106Psychology#34
  25. #148Social Sciences#52
  26. #30Veterinary-

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 Iraq rankSaudi Arabia rank Iraq top 10%Saudi Arabia top 10% Iraq worksSaudi Arabia works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #122 #31 3.1% 18.3% 8.3k 5.9k
Arts and Humanities #103 #47 5.7% 14.1% 3.3k 2.2k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #103 #32 3.0% 11.6% 5.5k 7.4k
Business, Management and Accounting #108 #28 5.7% 20.2% 2.8k 4k
Chemical Engineering #43 #18 5.7% 13.7% 348 947
Chemistry #68 #15 6.4% 16.4% 3.2k 4.5k
Computer Science #125 #26 6.5% 19.3% 11k 14k
Decision Sciences #76 #28 6.2% 17.4% 1.3k 1.8k
Dentistry #62 #24 2.8% 11.6% 1.6k 3.4k
Earth and Planetary Sciences #78 #24 3.6% 15.3% 1.2k 1.4k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #107 #39 3.6% 15.7% 1.6k 2.3k
Energy #67 #20 7.8% 13.0% 1.5k 3k
Engineering #106 #24 5.7% 16.2% 22k 26k
Environmental Science #120 #30 4.6% 16.5% 5.7k 6k
Health Professions #105 #30 5.1% 15.0% 2.8k 4.2k
Immunology and Microbiology #71 #39 1.5% 10.4% 1.7k 1.4k
Materials Science #83 #20 7.3% 14.6% 5.2k 9.8k
Mathematics #80 #27 6.0% 16.6% 2.3k 4.7k
Medicine #150 #43 2.9% 9.4% 18k 33k
Neuroscience #71 #35 5.6% 13.4% 1.1k 2k
Nursing #64 #30 2.2% 13.1% 826 995
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #44 #22 4.6% 15.2% 861 1.2k
Physics and Astronomy #75 #39 5.7% 14.3% 1.3k 2.6k
Psychology #106 #34 3.3% 13.4% 2.3k 4.1k
Social Sciences #148 #52 4.0% 15.4% 10k 8.4k
Veterinary #30 - 1.4% - 210 -

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.

Iraq

▲ 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. Machine Learning6,208▲ 1.43×97 topics
  2. Deep Learning6,012▲ 1.33×85 topics
  3. Epidemiology5,468◆ 1.05×137 topics
  4. Inflammation3,503▲ 1.26×83 topics
  5. Nanoparticles3,313▲ 2.0×44 topics
  6. Environmental Impact3,295▲ 1.48×73 topics
  7. Oxidative Stress2,705▲ 1.26×63 topics
  8. Nanomaterials2,429▲ 1.78×21 topics
  9. Renewable Energy2,256▲ 1.19×61 topics
  10. Antioxidant2,179▲ 2.4×51 topics
  11. Remote Sensing2,135▲ 1.34×40 topics
  12. Mechanical Properties2,134▲ 1.67×39 topics
  13. Culture2,006▲ 2.9×40 topics
  14. Literature2,004▲ 2.8×60 topics
  15. History1,885▲ 2.1×57 topics
  16. Philosophy1,819▲ 3.1×41 topics
  17. Islam1,756▲ 6.5×5 topics
  18. Ethnicity1,752▲ 3.6×23 topics
  19. Toxicity1,738▲ 3.1×20 topics
  20. Synthesis1,692▲ 3.5×36 topics
  21. Social Influence1,656▲ 6.0×3 topics
  22. Antioxidant Activity1,634▲ 2.0×32 topics
  23. Science1,632▲ 5.1×10 topics
  24. Sharia Law1,610▲ 8.6×2 topics
  25. Malay Language1,609▲ 8.8×1 topic
  26. Heat Transfer1,598▲ 2.5×20 topics
  27. Artificial Neural Networks1,524▲ 2.6×10 topics
  28. Economic Security1,374▲ 5.0×7 topics
  29. Legal Regulation1,348▲ 4.6×8 topics
  30. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles1,328▲ 5.4×5 topics
  31. Strategic Planning1,280▲ 6.7×5 topics
  32. Design1,279▲ 6.0×6 topics
  33. Modernization1,265▲ 5.3×5 topics
  34. International Trade Law1,254▲ 7.3×2 topics
  35. Foresight1,252▲ 7.3×2 topics
  36. Public Oversight1,248▲ 7.8×1 topic
  37. Transport Policy1,248▲ 7.8×1 topic
  38. Air Force1,245▲ 8.1×1 topic
  39. Warfare1,245▲ 8.1×1 topic
  40. Recycled Materials923▲ 6.3×2 topics

Saudi Arabia

▲ 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. Machine Learning9,377▲ 1.57×97 topics
  2. Epidemiology8,606▲ 1.20×140 topics
  3. Deep Learning8,212▲ 1.33×85 topics
  4. Nanomaterials4,903▲ 2.6×21 topics
  5. Inflammation4,358◆ 1.14×83 topics
  6. Nanoparticles4,169▲ 1.85×44 topics
  7. Renewable Energy3,548▲ 1.37×61 topics
  8. Healthcare3,546▲ 1.73×38 topics
  9. Oxidative Stress3,515▲ 1.19×63 topics
  10. Quality of Life3,402▲ 1.31×58 topics
  11. Environmental Impact3,365◆ 1.10×72 topics
  12. Heat Transfer3,190▲ 3.6×20 topics
  13. Biomedical Applications3,145▲ 1.48×36 topics
  14. COVID-192,875▲ 1.23×33 topics
  15. Graphene2,614▲ 2.2×12 topics
  16. Nanocomposites2,530▲ 1.79×22 topics
  17. Supply Chain Management2,398▲ 1.49×26 topics
  18. Antioxidant2,358▲ 1.92×51 topics
  19. Synthesis1,863▲ 2.8×37 topics
  20. Toxicity1,816▲ 2.3×20 topics
  21. Nanostructures1,774▲ 2.4×17 topics
  22. IoT Security1,724▲ 3.1×3 topics
  23. Smart Cities1,649▲ 3.5×8 topics
  24. Water Splitting1,646▲ 2.5×4 topics
  25. Experimental Investigation1,634▲ 8.8×5 topics
  26. Nonlinear Equations1,616▲ 7.0×6 topics
  27. Applications1,601▲ 3.3×8 topics
  28. Solar Energy1,585▲ 2.8×5 topics
  29. Antimicrobial1,475▲ 2.9×14 topics
  30. Green Synthesis1,351▲ 4.0×5 topics
  31. Thermal Conductivity1,290▲ 4.5×8 topics
  32. Nanofluids1,272▲ 8.6×2 topics
  33. Review1,231▲ 5.7×5 topics
  34. Viscosity1,059▲ 8.3×4 topics
  35. Convective Transport1,015▲ 12×1 topic
  36. Enhancement1,015▲ 12×1 topic
  37. Fractional Calculus1,005▲ 9.9×2 topics
  38. Anomalous Diffusion942▲ 9.4×2 topics
  39. Homotopy Analysis Method910▲ 11×1 topic
  40. Random Walk910▲ 11×1 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?

Saudi Arabia has out-published Iraq every year since 1980.

still counting20k40k60kSaudi Arabia45k in 2025Iraq31k 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 counting0.50%1.0%Saudi Arabia0.76% in 2025Iraq0.52% 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%Saudi Arabia15.0% in 2025Iraq5.1% 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.

Iraq 02 level3 Saudi Arabia
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5001
  4. 0In the top 1,0002
  5. #51Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#34

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, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia publishes 1.3× as much research as Iraq in 2022-now (156k against 117k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?

14.4% of Saudi Arabia's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 4.7% for Iraq.

Is Iraq or Saudi Arabia growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +87% against 2018-21 for Iraq, and +72% for Saudi Arabia.

Which has more open access research, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?

78% of Iraq's research is free to read, against 57% of Saudi Arabia's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?

Iraq holds 0 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Saudi Arabia 0; in the top 1,000 it is 0 against 2.

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%.

Iraq

  1. 1University of Raparin11.5% top 10% · 638 works
  2. 2Koya University6.8% top 10% · 879 works
  3. 3University of Technology - Iraq6.5% top 10% · 4.7k works
  4. 4Tishk International University11.6% top 10% · 1k works
  5. 5Duhok Polytechnic University10.3% top 10% · 627 works
  6. 6Kurdistan Regional Government8.8% top 10% · 960 works

Saudi Arabia

  1. 1King Abdullah University of Science and Technology17.4% top 10% · 5.7k works
  2. 2King Abdulaziz University13.8% top 10% · 11k works
  3. 3University of Business and Technology22.6% top 10% · 2k works
  4. 4King Saud University14.1% top 10% · 20k works
  5. 5Ministry of Education19.1% top 10% · 655 works
  6. 6King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals16.9% top 10% · 7.2k 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.

Iraq

  1. 1 Aso Mohammad Darwesh #14,894 worldwide 51k citations · 121 works
  2. 2 Ahmed Omar Bali #18,851 worldwide 46k citations · 89 works
  3. 3 Mokhtar Mohammadi #20,512 worldwide 15k citations · 151 works
  4. 4 Hayder Ibrahim Mohammed #24,716 worldwide 7.1k citations · 192 works
  5. 5 Karrar Hameed Abdulkareem #24,839 worldwide 6.4k citations · 111 works

Saudi Arabia

  1. 1 Xuping Sun #352 worldwide 82k citations · 678 works
  2. 2 Arunodaya Raj Mishra #507 worldwide 9.8k citations · 215 works
  3. 3 Osman M. Bakr #703 worldwide 62k citations · 539 works
  4. 4 Mohamed Eddaoudi #1,507 worldwide 97k citations · 772 works
  5. 5 Pratibha Rani #1,724 worldwide 8.6k citations · 204 works

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