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Malta vs Nigeria

On research quality in 2022-now, Malta ranks #100 in the world and Nigeria #101, of 189 countries. Malta stands higher in 4 of the 26 fields both publish in, Nigeria in 22.

Research profiles alike: 0.06different shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Malta

World rank, 2022-now
#100
#93 all time
Works, 2022-now
4k
fractional
Top-10% rate
8.7%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
49%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Space and Planetary Science, Medical Terminology, Archeology.

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?

Malta leads on 5 of 9 measures: research quality, excellence for its fields, top-10% rate, citations per work and international co-authorship. Nigeria leads on 3 of 9 measures: output, open access and growth. The two are level on institutions in the world top 100.

Malta 51 level3 Nigeria
  1. #100Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#101
  2. 0.79×Excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.52×
  3. 4kOutputfractional works, 2022-now134k
  4. 8.7%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited4.9%
  5. 12.7Citations per workall time, per fractional work7.4
  6. 0World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 49%Open accessof its works free to read, all time70%
  8. 30%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time16%
  9. +11%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, excellence and the top-10% rate are explained in the methodology.

Who leads in each field?

Malta stands higher in 4 of 26 fields, Nigeria in 22. Nigeria leads most in Medicine (#84 against #103); Malta leads most in Arts and Humanities (#58 against #80). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Malta 422 Nigeria
  1. -Agricultural and Biological Sciences#103
  2. #58Arts and Humanities#80
  3. -Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#93
  4. -Business, Management and Accounting#92
  5. -Chemical Engineering#42
  6. -Chemistry#63
  7. #85Computer 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. #88Engineering#96
  14. -Environmental Science#105
  15. -Health Professions#85
  16. -Immunology and Microbiology#59
  17. -Materials Science#74
  18. -Mathematics#75
  19. #103Medicine#84
  20. -Neuroscience#65
  21. -Nursing#59
  22. -Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#43
  23. -Physics and Astronomy#74
  24. #76Psychology#95
  25. #116Social 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 Malta rankNigeria rank Malta top 10%Nigeria top 10% Malta worksNigeria works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences - #103 - 4.0% - 14k
Arts and Humanities #58 #80 12.8% 8.7% 234 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 #85 #112 8.0% 5.7% 348 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 #88 #96 8.8% 4.9% 420 14k
Environmental Science - #105 - 4.4% - 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 #103 #84 6.4% 4.1% 861 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 #76 #95 8.7% 4.4% 232 3.5k
Social Sciences #116 #113 9.9% 5.7% 632 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.

Malta

▲ 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. Epidemiology204◆ 1.15×128 topics
  2. Globalization151▲ 1.72×97 topics
  3. Sustainability144▲ 1.32×79 topics
  4. Machine Learning136◆ 0.91×83 topics
  5. Deep Learning123▼ 0.80×73 topics
  6. Climate Change117◆ 0.96×96 topics
  7. Mental Health102▲ 1.59×41 topics
  8. Quality of Life100▲ 1.55×56 topics
  9. Education87◆ 1.13×81 topics
  10. Public Health80▲ 1.24×59 topics
  11. Artificial Intelligence79▲ 1.24×46 topics
  12. Renewable Energy79▲ 1.22×43 topics
  13. COVID-1970▲ 1.21×28 topics
  14. Healthcare70▲ 1.37×31 topics
  15. Risk Factors69▲ 1.41×36 topics
  16. Treatment68▲ 1.25×49 topics
  17. Cardiovascular Disease64▲ 1.25×38 topics
  18. Resilience64▲ 2.9×17 topics
  19. Big Data58▲ 1.35×27 topics
  20. Depression58▲ 1.46×25 topics
  21. Identity51▲ 1.59×46 topics
  22. Governance48▲ 3.3×14 topics
  23. Cultural Heritage48▲ 2.0×24 topics
  24. Vulnerability47▲ 4.6×7 topics
  25. Student Engagement46▲ 2.6×13 topics
  26. Ethics45▲ 2.0×39 topics
  27. Social Interaction42▲ 2.4×10 topics
  28. Prevention40▲ 2.1×15 topics
  29. Technology Integration35▲ 2.5×10 topics
  30. Reflective Practice34▲ 4.0×7 topics
  31. Mediterranean34▲ 8.4×6 topics
  32. Decolonization32▲ 8.9×5 topics
  33. European Union32▲ 3.2×17 topics
  34. Academic Achievement30▲ 4.0×10 topics
  35. Pacific30▲ 35×2 topics
  36. Islands29▲ 58×1 topic
  37. Small States29▲ 58×1 topic
  38. Holocene27▲ 5.3×3 topics
  39. Maritime Archaeology23▲ 28×1 topic
  40. Sea-Level Change23▲ 28×1 topic

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 Malta every year since 1980.

still counting20k40kNigeria40k in 2025Malta1,053 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 2025Malta0.018% 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%Malta9.8% 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.

Malta 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, Malta or Nigeria?

Nigeria publishes 33.9× as much research as Malta in 2022-now (134k against 4k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Malta or Nigeria?

8.7% of Malta's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 4.9% for Nigeria.

Is Malta or Nigeria growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +22% against 2018-21 for Nigeria, and +11% for Malta.

Which has more open access research, Malta or Nigeria?

70% of Nigeria's research is free to read, against 49% of Malta's.

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

Malta 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%.

Malta

  1. 1University of Malta9.1% top 10% · 3.1k works
  2. 2Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology6.7% top 10% · 277 works
  3. 3Primary HealthCare7.1% top 10% · 228 works
  4. 4Middlesex University8.5% top 10% · 131 works
  5. 5Heritage Malta7.7% top 10% · 72 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.

Malta

  1. 1 Mark Anthony Camilleri #68,033 worldwide 8.5k citations · 317 works
  2. 2 Miriam Gatt #75,716 worldwide 7k citations · 183 works
  3. 3 Mario V. Balzan #90,041 worldwide 4.2k citations · 91 works
  4. 4 Mark Mifsud #94,117 worldwide 3.4k citations · 56 works
  5. 5 Josette Camilleri #99,365 worldwide 13k citations · 232 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