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Science in China

China ranks #1 of 192 countries on research quality in 2022–2025 (#2 all time), with 3.9M research works and 22.8% of them in the world's top 10%.

World rank, 2022–2025
#1
of 192 · #2 all time
Works, 2022–2025
3.9M
▲ 33% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate
22.8%
record average 16.5%
In the world top 100
42
319 in the top 1,000
Open access
30%
world 63%

What is China strongest at in science?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China ranks highest in Engineering (#1 of 134), Computer Science (#1 of 131) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#1 of 126). Relative to its size it is most specialised in General Engineering, Catalysis and Acoustics and Ultrasonics.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
EngineeringField #1 of 134 20.0%1,097,382 Institutions
Computer ScienceField #1 of 131 19.0%392,712 Institutions
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #1 of 126 37.0%155,761 Institutions
Environmental ScienceField #1 of 125 25.7%233,490 Institutions
Business, Management and AccountingField #1 of 113 29.3%63,109 Institutions
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #1 of 110 41.0%52,083 Institutions
Economics and EconometricsSubfield #1 of 101 45.7%38,766 Institutions
Information SystemsSubfield #1 of 93 20.2%39,843 Institutions
Plant ScienceSubfield #1 of 92 40.0%75,226 Institutions
Artificial IntelligenceSubfield #1 of 90 20.2%132,255 Institutions
Materials ScienceField #1 of 90 21.4%271,499 Institutions
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #1 of 89 17.9%278,629 Institutions

Where its research is concentrated

Location quotient: how much more — or less — of each node it does than its size predicts. Drawn around 1×, where “twice the world share” and “half of it” are the same distance apart in opposite directions. A volume reading, which on a country axis is largely population and industrial structure.

  1. General EngineeringSubfield · 1,165.3 works3.9×
  2. CatalysisSubfield · 13,512.9 works2.3×
  3. Acoustics and UltrasonicsSubfield · 1,039.3 works2.3×
  4. Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided DesignSubfield · 7,323.1 works2.3×
  5. Control and Systems EngineeringSubfield · 94,321.4 works2.2×
  6. Process Chemistry and TechnologySubfield · 3,550.2 works2.2×
  7. Ceramics and CompositesSubfield · 6,040.7 works2.2×
  8. Business and International ManagementSubfield · 8,951.9 works2.2×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

The whole field profile

All 26 fields at once. A specialist and a generalist produce the same ranked list and a completely different shape.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.83× its world share, 156k worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.40× its world share, 294k worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.20× its world share, 48k worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.95× its world share, 61k worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.07× its world share, 15k worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.92× its world share, 26k worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.58× its world share, 97k worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.28× its world share, 393k worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.34× its world share, 83k worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.91× its world share, 69k worksEnergyEngineering: 1.86× its world share, 1.1M worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.19× its world share, 233k worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.98× its world share, 271k worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.80× its world share, 37k worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.14× its world share, 100k worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.49× its world share, 9,345 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.24× its world share, 25k worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.76× its world share, 572k worksMedicineNursing: 0.87× its world share, 17k worksNursingVeterinary: 0.38× its world share, 2,018 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.19× its world share, 21k worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.50× its world share, 63k worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.78× its world share, 30k worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.62× its world share, 52k worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.41× its world share, 50k worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.23× its world share, 113k worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Materials Science, 2.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Which keywords describe research in China?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Nanomaterials, Cancer, Nanoparticles, Biomedical Applications and Energy Storage.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this country's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Deep Learning249k▲ 1.85×85 topics
  2. Machine Learning157k▲ 1.22×97 topics
  3. Neural Networks114k▲ 1.88×42 topics
  4. Inflammation103k▲ 1.25×83 topics
  5. Cancer94k▲ 1.79×59 topics
  6. Climate Change93k◆ 0.88×132 topics
  7. Epidemiology93k▼ 0.60×140 topics
  8. Nanoparticles90k▲ 1.81×44 topics
  9. Nanomaterials89k▲ 2.1×21 topics
  10. Biomedical Applications87k▲ 1.87×36 topics
  11. Oxidative Stress85k▲ 1.32×63 topics
  12. Remote Sensing77k▲ 1.59×42 topics
  13. Mechanical Properties74k▲ 1.95×39 topics
  14. Environmental Impact74k◆ 1.10×74 topics
  15. Renewable Energy73k▲ 1.29×61 topics
  16. Energy Storage68k▲ 2.6×13 topics
  17. Graphene64k▲ 2.4×12 topics
  18. Nanocomposites63k▲ 2.0×22 topics
  19. Catalysis60k▲ 2.3×29 topics
  20. Convolutional Neural Networks54k▲ 1.87×14 topics
  21. Energy Efficiency51k▲ 1.38×46 topics
  22. Internet of Things49k▲ 1.43×33 topics
  23. Gene Expression48k▲ 2.0×20 topics
  24. Cathode Materials47k▲ 3.0×3 topics
  25. Metal-Organic Frameworks46k▲ 2.8×6 topics
  26. Microstructure44k▲ 2.2×19 topics
  27. Water Splitting39k▲ 2.7×4 topics
  28. Drug Delivery39k▲ 1.85×16 topics
  29. Biosensors39k▲ 1.92×12 topics
  30. Lithium-ion Batteries38k▲ 2.3×4 topics
  31. Tumor Microenvironment36k▲ 2.1×8 topics
  32. Wireless Sensor Networks35k▲ 1.98×23 topics
  33. Semiconductor33k▲ 2.5×7 topics
  34. Rechargeable Batteries32k▲ 3.0×2 topics
  35. Smart Grid31k▲ 2.1×10 topics
  36. Electrocatalysis31k▲ 2.8×5 topics
  37. Reactive Oxygen Species31k▲ 1.94×14 topics
  38. Battery Technology30k▲ 2.6×3 topics
  39. Hydrogen Production27k▲ 2.5×6 topics
  40. CO2 Reduction25k▲ 2.9×2 topics

How many world-class institutions does China hold?

Average quality and elite capacity disagree by construction, and both are worth knowing: the first is decided by a country’s whole institution population, the second counts the institutions it holds at the top. One square per institution.

in the world top 502651st to 100th16101st to 500th127501st to 1,000th150

Bands are exclusive, so the squares add up to 319 — the institutions it holds in the world top 1,000 — and not to four times it.

Which universities in China lead research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences rank highest in China on research quality in 2022–2025.

0%20%40%mean 26.22%fractional works (log) →share in the world top 10% →Chinese Academy of Sciences: 58k, 27.1%Tsinghua University: 40k, 27.2%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 34k, 27.9%Zhejiang University: 41k, 26.1%Shanghai Jiao Tong University: 44k, 25.5%Peking University: 32k, 25.5%University of Science and Technology of China: 25k, 25.2%Sichuan University: 35k, 25.8%Central South University: 34k, 27.7%Sun Yat-sen University: 32k, 25.8%Huazhong University of Science and Technology: 32k, 25.8%Wuhan University: 25k, 29.3%Xi'an Jiaotong University: 33k, 24.8%Fudan University: 23k, 25.1%Harbin Institute of Technology: 34k, 24.5%University of Chines…Tsinghua UniversityChinese Academy of S…Zhejiang University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per institution in the list below. The upper left is the interesting corner.

  1. 1Chinese Academy of SciencesGovernment institution · Beijing · #1 worldwide27.1% top 10% · 58k works
  2. 2Tsinghua UniversityUniversity · Beijing · #2 worldwide27.2% top 10% · 40k works
  3. 3University of Chinese Academy of SciencesUniversity · Beijing · #3 worldwide27.9% top 10% · 34k works
  4. 4Zhejiang UniversityUniversity · Hangzhou · #5 worldwide26.1% top 10% · 41k works
  5. 5Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityUniversity · Shanghai · #6 worldwide25.5% top 10% · 44k works
  6. 6Peking UniversityUniversity · Beijing · #7 worldwide25.5% top 10% · 32k works
  7. 7University of Science and Technology of ChinaUniversity · Hefei · #10 worldwide25.2% top 10% · 25k works
  8. 8Sichuan UniversityUniversity · Chengdu · #11 worldwide25.8% top 10% · 35k works
  9. 9Central South UniversityUniversity · Changsha · #14 worldwide27.7% top 10% · 34k works
  10. 10Sun Yat-sen UniversityUniversity · Guangzhou · #15 worldwide25.8% top 10% · 32k works
  11. 11Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyUniversity · Wuhan · #16 worldwide25.8% top 10% · 32k works
  12. 12Wuhan UniversityUniversity · Wuhan · #17 worldwide29.3% top 10% · 25k works
  13. 13Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityUniversity · Xi'an · #19 worldwide24.8% top 10% · 33k works
  14. 14Fudan UniversityUniversity · Shanghai · #23 worldwide25.1% top 10% · 23k works
  15. 15Harbin Institute of TechnologyUniversity · Harbin · #24 worldwide24.5% top 10% · 34k works

The track on each row is its top-10% rate; the tick is the world’s rate in this record, 16.5% — teal above it, red below.

All ranked institutions in China

Who are the top researchers in China?

Heng Fan, Wei Liu and Bin Song rank highest among researchers based in China.

  1. 1 Heng Fan · #132 worldwide 5.5k citations · 146 works
  2. 2 Wei Liu · #275 worldwide 9.7k citations · 371 works
  3. 3 Bin Song · #571 worldwide 3.2k citations · 105 works
  4. 4 Shouling Wu · #785 worldwide 2.8k citations · 105 works
  5. 5 Fei Tao · #831 worldwide 2.7k citations · 123 works
  6. 6 Jie He · #946 worldwide 2.2k citations · 109 works
  7. 7 Li Y · #958 worldwide 4.1k citations · 90 works
  8. 8 Zhuang Liu · #1,007 worldwide 3.6k citations · 182 works
  9. 9 Bin Cao · #1,475 worldwide 3.3k citations · 83 works
  10. 10 Ting Zhang · #1,532 worldwide 2.7k citations · 96 works
Top researchers in China

Which cities in China are research hubs?

  1. 1 Beijing China 2.7M works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 986k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 720k works
  4. 4 Wuhan China 615k works
  5. 5 Guangzhou China 608k works
  6. 6 Xi'an China 594k works
  7. 7 Hangzhou China 449k works
  8. 8 Chengdu China 440k works
  9. 9 Changsha China 366k works
  10. 10 Tianjin China 360k works
  11. 11 Harbin China 327k works
  12. 12 Hong Kong China 311k works

How much of it is in the largest

The same cities as shares of everything these twelve account for.

Beijing: 31.7%Shanghai: 11.7%Nanjing: 8.5%Wuhan: 7.3%8 others listed: 40.8%32%largest
Beijing2.7M · 31.7%Shanghai986k · 11.7%Nanjing720k · 8.5%Wuhan615k · 7.3%8 others listed3.5M · 40.8%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

How open and international is China's research?

30% of its research is openly available (world: 40%), and 11% is written with international co-authors (world: 18%).

openly available29.9%not open70.1%

World: 63% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.4%domestic only88.6%

World: 22% is written across borders.

How has China's research grown?

Output in 2018–2022 was 33% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Research fields in China