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Science in Iceland

Iceland ranks #94 of 192 countries on research quality in 2022–2025 (#77 all time), with 5.2k research works and 18.9% of them in the world's top 10%.

World rank, 2022–2025
#94
of 192 · #77 all time
Works, 2022–2025
5.2k
▲ 27% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate
18.9%
record average 16.5%
In the world top 100
0
0 in the top 1,000
Open access
46%
world 63%

What is Iceland strongest at in science?

On research quality in 2022–2025, Iceland ranks highest in Medicine (#89 of 155), Engineering (#94 of 134) and Social Sciences (#108 of 151). Relative to its size it is most specialised in Chemical Health and Safety, Classics and Equine.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
MedicineField #89 of 155 15.9%971 Institutions
EngineeringField #94 of 134 18.4%443 Institutions
Social SciencesField #108 of 151 22.7%831 Institutions
Environmental ScienceField #90 of 125 19.4%428 Institutions
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #58 of 80 21.2%221 Institutions
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #92 of 122 24.3%254 Institutions
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #87 of 108 22.6%228 Institutions
Computer ScienceField #107 of 131 14.4%255 Institutions
PsychologyField #91 of 109 19.6%304 Institutions
Arts and HumanitiesField #90 of 106 17.6%249 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. Chemical Health and SafetySubfield · 5.5 works16×
  2. ClassicsSubfield · 20.6 works6.7×
  3. EquineSubfield · 2.9 works4.4×
  4. Aquatic ScienceSubfield · 39.5 works4.2×
  5. GeophysicsSubfield · 71.6 works4.0×
  6. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 47.7 works3.9×
  7. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 81.1 works3.5×
  8. EcologySubfield · 118.0 works2.9×
← 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: 0.75× its world share, 184 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.83× its world share, 228 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.84× its world share, 44 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.28× its world share, 107 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.33× its world share, 24 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.40× its world share, 25 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.50× its world share, 40 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.63× its world share, 255 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.72× its world share, 221 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.98× its world share, 46 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.57× its world share, 443 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.66× its world share, 428 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.48× its world share, 86 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.75× its world share, 46 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.92× its world share, 106 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.58× its world share, 15 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.26× its world share, 172 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.97× its world share, 971 worksMedicineNursing: 1.09× its world share, 28 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.08× its world share, 8 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.67× its world share, 249 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.88× its world share, 147 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.86× its world share, 43 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.16× its world share, 128 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.92× its world share, 304 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.27× its world share, 831 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Which keywords describe research in Iceland?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Epidemiology, Sustainability, Globalization, Mental Health, Fisheries Sustainability, Arctic and Inflammation.

▲ 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. Climate Change340▲ 2.4×98 topics
  2. Epidemiology253▲ 1.24×127 topics
  3. Sustainability176▲ 1.39×84 topics
  4. Globalization160▲ 1.57×90 topics
  5. Mental Health135▲ 1.78×41 topics
  6. Inflammation127▲ 1.18×75 topics
  7. Environmental Impact98◆ 1.11×50 topics
  8. Remote Sensing88▲ 1.37×31 topics
  9. Public Health87▲ 1.16×56 topics
  10. Treatment83▲ 1.33×47 topics
  11. Cardiovascular Disease82▲ 1.42×37 topics
  12. Depression79▲ 1.73×22 topics
  13. Risk Factors78▲ 1.37×35 topics
  14. Biodiversity66▲ 1.70×33 topics
  15. Genetics62▲ 1.72×25 topics
  16. Invasive Species62▲ 2.8×20 topics
  17. Meta-Analysis59▲ 1.92×18 topics
  18. Literature58▲ 2.1×32 topics
  19. Religion58▲ 2.4×24 topics
  20. Prevalence57▲ 2.7×14 topics
  21. Resilience56▲ 2.3×17 topics
  22. Fisheries Sustainability55▲ 12×2 topics
  23. Arctic54▲ 9.2×4 topics
  24. Conservation52▲ 2.3×22 topics
  25. Labor Market50▲ 3.3×14 topics
  26. Governance49▲ 2.9×15 topics
  27. Aquaculture49▲ 3.6×8 topics
  28. International Relations43▲ 3.4×15 topics
  29. Medieval39▲ 20×3 topics
  30. Financial Crisis34▲ 5.9×11 topics
  31. Holocene33▲ 5.5×3 topics
  32. Freshwater Biodiversity33▲ 10×2 topics
  33. Shipping32▲ 12×2 topics
  34. Trophic Cascades31▲ 6.4×2 topics
  35. Oil and Gas31▲ 16×2 topics
  36. Conservation Challenges30▲ 12×1 topic
  37. Flow Regulation30▲ 12×1 topic
  38. Maritime Transport30▲ 21×1 topic
  39. Northern Sea Route30▲ 21×1 topic
  40. Banking Sector28▲ 47×3 topics

Which universities in Iceland lead research?

University of Iceland, Reykjavík University and National University Hospital of Iceland rank highest in Iceland on research quality in 2022–2025.

0%10%20%30%mean 15.3125%fractional works (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of Iceland: 2,446, 21.5%Reykjavík University: 690, 24.0%National University Hospital of Iceland: 292, 17.2%Directorate of Health: 610, 7.0%University of Akureyri: 236, 15.3%Marine and Freshwater Research Institute: 74, 18.8%Matís (Iceland): 84, 7.7%Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies: 70, 11.0%Reykjavík UniversityUniversity of IcelandNational University …Directorate of Health
above the meannear itbelow it

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

  1. 1University of IcelandUniversity · Reykjavik · #1,562 worldwide21.5% top 10% · 2.4k works
  2. 2Reykjavík UniversityUniversity · Reykjavik · #4,373 worldwide24.0% top 10% · 690 works
  3. 3National University Hospital of IcelandFunder · Reykjavik · #9,407 worldwide17.2% top 10% · 292 works
  4. 4Directorate of HealthGovernment institution · Reykjavik · #12,298 worldwide7.0% top 10% · 610 works
  5. 5University of AkureyriUniversity · Akureyri · #14,523 worldwide15.3% top 10% · 236 works
  6. 6Marine and Freshwater Research InstituteResearch facility · Hafnarfjordur · #21,511 worldwide18.8% top 10% · 74 works
  7. 7Matís (Iceland)Company · Reykjavik · #24,671 worldwide7.7% top 10% · 84 works
  8. 8Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesUniversity · Reykjavik · #27,521 worldwide11.0% top 10% · 70 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 Iceland

Who are the top researchers in Iceland?

Kāri Stefánsson, Vilmundur Guðnason and Unnur Þorsteinsdóttir rank highest among researchers based in Iceland.

  1. 1 Kāri Stefánsson · #127 worldwide 4.2k citations · 145 works
  2. 2 Vilmundur Guðnason · #1,496 worldwide 2.9k citations · 194 works
  3. 3 Unnur Þorsteinsdóttir · #2,162 worldwide 2.8k citations · 76 works
  4. 4 Guðmar Þorleifsson · #2,335 worldwide 2.4k citations · 82 works
  5. 5 Jón Atli Benediktsson · #3,544 worldwide 2.7k citations · 151 works
  6. 6 Hreinn Stefánsson · #3,825 worldwide 1.8k citations · 67 works
  7. 7 Daníel F. Guðbjartsson · #6,019 worldwide 1.4k citations · 61 works
  8. 8 Guðný Eiríksdóttir · #10,550 worldwide 917 citations · 55 works
  9. 9 Einar S. Björnsson · #11,532 worldwide 573 citations · 72 works
  10. 10 Patrick Sulem · #14,891 worldwide 961 citations · 46 works
Top researchers in Iceland

Which cities in Iceland are research hubs?

  1. 1 Reykjavik Iceland 22k works

How open and international is Iceland's research?

46% of its research is openly available (world: 40%), and 42% is written with international co-authors (world: 18%).

openly available45.5%not open54.5%

World: 63% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors42.3%domestic only57.7%

World: 22% is written across borders.

How has Iceland's research grown?

Output in 2018–2022 was 27% 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 Iceland