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Malawi vs Nigeria

On research quality in 2022-now, Malawi ranks #61 in the world and Nigeria #101, of 189 countries. Malawi stands higher in 4 of the 26 fields both publish in, Nigeria in 22.

Research profiles alike: 0.82very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Malawi

World rank, 2022-now
#61
#55 all time
Works, 2022-now
3k
fractional
Top-10% rate
9.5%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
63%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Forestry, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Parasitology.

Nigeria

World rank, 2022-now
#101
#104 all time
Works, 2022-now
134k
fractional
Top-10% rate
4.9%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
70%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Library and Information Sciences, Drug Discovery, Chemical Health and Safety.

Who leads, measure by measure?

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

Malawi 61 level2 Nigeria
  1. #61Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#101
  2. 1.12×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.52×
  3. 3kOutputfractional works, 2022-now134k
  4. 9.5%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited4.9%
  5. 16.6Citations per workall time, per fractional work7.4
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 63%Open accessof its works free to read, all time70%
  8. 49%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time16%
  9. +46%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+22%

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?

Malawi stands higher in 4 of 26 fields, Nigeria in 22. Malawi leads most in Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#51 against #103). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Malawi 422 Nigeria
  1. #51Agricultural and Biological Sciences#103
  2. -Arts and Humanities#80
  3. -Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#93
  4. -Business, Management and Accounting#92
  5. -Chemical Engineering#42
  6. -Chemistry#63
  7. -Computer Science#112
  8. -Decision Sciences#70
  9. -Dentistry#60
  10. -Earth and Planetary Sciences#66
  11. -Economics, Econometrics and Finance#79
  12. -Energy#71
  13. -Engineering#96
  14. #72Environmental Science#105
  15. -Health Professions#85
  16. -Immunology and Microbiology#59
  17. -Materials Science#74
  18. -Mathematics#75
  19. #45Medicine#84
  20. -Neuroscience#65
  21. -Nursing#59
  22. -Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#43
  23. -Physics and Astronomy#74
  24. -Psychology#95
  25. #65Social Sciences#113
  26. -Veterinary#29

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 Malawi rankNigeria rank Malawi top 10%Nigeria top 10% Malawi worksNigeria works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #51 #103 11.7% 4.0% 336 14k
Arts and Humanities - #80 - 8.7% - 2.8k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology - #93 - 4.5% - 4.6k
Business, Management and Accounting - #92 - 4.9% - 7.7k
Chemical Engineering - #42 - 6.5% - 200
Chemistry - #63 - 6.0% - 1.6k
Computer Science - #112 - 5.7% - 8k
Decision Sciences - #70 - 4.8% - 2k
Dentistry - #60 - 3.5% - 409
Earth and Planetary Sciences - #66 - 5.8% - 1.5k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance - #79 - 5.0% - 6.5k
Energy - #71 - 4.2% - 1.7k
Engineering - #96 - 4.9% - 14k
Environmental Science #72 #105 7.4% 4.4% 275 10k
Health Professions - #85 - 6.1% - 4.3k
Immunology and Microbiology - #59 - 5.0% - 1.3k
Materials Science - #74 - 6.6% - 2.8k
Mathematics - #75 - 6.3% - 1.9k
Medicine #45 #84 11.8% 4.1% 641 21k
Neuroscience - #65 - 5.2% - 739
Nursing - #59 - 3.3% - 1.9k
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics - #43 - 3.3% - 1.3k
Physics and Astronomy - #74 - 4.6% - 673
Psychology - #95 - 4.4% - 3.5k
Social Sciences #65 #113 8.2% 5.7% 534 20k
Veterinary - #29 - 2.6% - 255

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.

Malawi

▲ 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. Epidemiology245▲ 1.73×119 topics
  2. Climate Change202▲ 2.1×103 topics
  3. Sustainability141▲ 1.62×81 topics
  4. Globalization99▲ 1.41×86 topics
  5. Environmental Impact98▲ 1.61×51 topics
  6. Maternal Mortality91▲ 11×5 topics
  7. Sustainable Agriculture88▲ 8.0×13 topics
  8. Community Health Workers87▲ 28×2 topics
  9. Antiretroviral Therapy80▲ 14×6 topics
  10. Health Inequalities76▲ 18×4 topics
  11. Socio-economic Factors75▲ 19×2 topics
  12. Biodiversity74▲ 2.8×32 topics
  13. Child Mortality74▲ 29×1 topic
  14. Health Systems74▲ 29×1 topic
  15. Smallholder Farmers73▲ 9.8×6 topics
  16. Child Development72▲ 5.0×8 topics
  17. Social Networks70▲ 7.2×9 topics
  18. Food Security65▲ 3.4×20 topics
  19. Biodiversity Conservation65▲ 4.8×16 topics
  20. Rural Development64▲ 5.3×15 topics
  21. Global Burden62▲ 3.2×12 topics
  22. Poverty Reduction62▲ 13×5 topics
  23. Vaccine60▲ 4.2×11 topics
  24. Colonialism58▲ 3.5×17 topics
  25. Genetic Diversity58▲ 3.8×20 topics
  26. Global Burden of Disease57▲ 6.5×4 topics
  27. Mortality Rates53▲ 16×2 topics
  28. Technology Adoption53▲ 8.0×6 topics
  29. Maternal and Child Undernutrition52▲ 18×1 topic
  30. Water Sanitation Hygiene52▲ 18×1 topic
  31. HIV Transmission51▲ 19×2 topics
  32. Gender Inequality48▲ 9.7×6 topics
  33. Viral Load47▲ 17×2 topics
  34. Vulnerability47▲ 5.7×8 topics
  35. Agricultural Innovation44▲ 27×3 topics
  36. Preexposure Prophylaxis44▲ 26×1 topic
  37. Stigma and Discrimination44▲ 26×1 topic
  38. Livelihood Diversification44▲ 39×1 topic
  39. Market Participation44▲ 39×1 topic
  40. Global Health42▲ 7.6×6 topics

Nigeria

▲ 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. Epidemiology6,992◆ 1.09×140 topics
  2. Sustainability6,209▲ 1.58×131 topics
  3. Environmental Impact6,008▲ 2.2×72 topics
  4. Education5,751▲ 2.1×146 topics
  5. Machine Learning5,438◆ 1.02×97 topics
  6. Sustainable Development5,257▲ 2.1×108 topics
  7. Globalization4,985▲ 1.58×173 topics
  8. Climate Change4,966◆ 1.14×127 topics
  9. Renewable Energy4,353▲ 1.87×61 topics
  10. Economic Growth4,324▲ 3.3×38 topics
  11. Oxidative Stress3,687▲ 1.39×63 topics
  12. Antioxidant3,412▲ 3.1×51 topics
  13. Development3,202▲ 5.6×23 topics
  14. Gender Equality3,084▲ 6.8×18 topics
  15. Corporate Governance2,913▲ 2.5×32 topics
  16. Risk Management2,754▲ 3.6×20 topics
  17. Curriculum Development2,746▲ 2.5×20 topics
  18. Antioxidant Activity2,743▲ 2.7×32 topics
  19. Nigeria2,734▲ 79×3 topics
  20. Information Technology2,674▲ 3.5×32 topics
  21. Medicinal Plants2,492▲ 4.0×21 topics
  22. Social Capital2,408▲ 2.9×20 topics
  23. Genetic Diversity2,394▲ 3.4×22 topics
  24. Antioxidants2,137▲ 3.0×17 topics
  25. Teacher Education2,125▲ 10×8 topics
  26. Toxicity2,107▲ 3.0×20 topics
  27. Governance2,098▲ 4.0×19 topics
  28. Quality Assurance2,067▲ 7.6×9 topics
  29. Fiscal Policy2,016▲ 6.2×11 topics
  30. Bioactive Compounds1,971▲ 4.9×15 topics
  31. Youth Unemployment1,884▲ 99×1 topic
  32. ICT1,763▲ 8.2×5 topics
  33. Institutional Quality1,723▲ 10×3 topics
  34. Inequality1,694▲ 4.6×18 topics
  35. Smallholder Farmers1,669▲ 4.9×6 topics
  36. Knowledge Economy1,451▲ 8.3×11 topics
  37. Mobile Phones1,415▲ 19×3 topics
  38. Inclusive Development1,410▲ 20×2 topics
  39. financial access1,397▲ 22×1 topic
  40. gender inclusion1,397▲ 22×1 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?

Nigeria has out-published Malawi every year since 1980.

still counting20k40kNigeria40k in 2025Malawi971 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 counting0.25%0.50%0.75%Nigeria0.67% in 2025Malawi0.017% 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%Malawi10.2% in 2025Nigeria4.6% 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.

Malawi 05 level0 Nigeria
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 0In the top 1000
  3. 0In the top 5000
  4. 0In the top 1,0000
  5. #51Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#51

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, Malawi or Nigeria?

Nigeria publishes 44.4× as much research as Malawi in 2022-now (134k against 3k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Malawi or Nigeria?

9.5% of Malawi's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 4.9% for Nigeria.

Is Malawi or Nigeria growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +46% against 2018-21 for Malawi, and +22% for Nigeria.

Which has more open access research, Malawi or Nigeria?

70% of Nigeria's research is free to read, against 63% of Malawi's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Malawi or Nigeria?

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

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%.

Malawi

  1. 1University of Malawi9.1% top 10% · 650 works
  2. 2Kamuzu Central Hospital12.3% top 10% · 279 works
  3. 3Ministry of Education Science and Technology7.7% top 10% · 312 works
  4. 4Mzuzu University6.9% top 10% · 241 works
  5. 5Malawi University of Science and Technology6.9% top 10% · 172 works
  6. 6Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources11.0% top 10% · 243 works

Nigeria

  1. 1Covenant University7.9% top 10% · 1.6k works
  2. 2Lead City University4.8% top 10% · 1k works
  3. 3Adekunle Ajasin University5.6% top 10% · 1k works
  4. 4Redeemer's University8.4% top 10% · 599 works
  5. 5University of Lagos5.2% top 10% · 3.6k works
  6. 6University of Ibadan6.0% top 10% · 5.8k 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.

Malawi

  1. 1 Amelia Catharine Crampin #138,780 worldwide 23k citations · 372 works
  2. 2 Kelias Phiri Msyamboza #162,077 worldwide 12k citations · 53 works
  3. 3 Eduard E. Zijlstra #238,180 worldwide 4.8k citations · 91 works
  4. 4 Elsbeth Robson #239,786 worldwide 3k citations · 121 works
  5. 5 Felix Khuluza #244,579 worldwide 1.6k citations · 40 works

Nigeria

  1. 1 Michael Ekholuenetale #7,006 worldwide 69k citations · 215 works
  2. 2 Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi #10,324 worldwide 161k citations · 355 works
  3. 3 Mu’awiyyah Babale Sufiyan #10,737 worldwide 123k citations · 106 works
  4. 4 Oye Gureje #14,357 worldwide 94k citations · 694 works
  5. 5 Aminu Shittu #16,229 worldwide 34k citations · 108 works