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Science in North Korea

North Korea ranks #140 of 192 countries on research quality in 2022–2025 (#158 all time), with 841 research works and 9.2% of them in the world's top 10%.

World rank, 2022–2025
#140
of 192 · #158 all time
Works, 2022–2025
841
▲ 124% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate
9.2%
record average 16.5%
In the world top 100
0
0 in the top 1,000
Open access
54%
world 63%

What is North Korea strongest at in science?

On research quality in 2022–2025, North Korea ranks highest in Engineering (#123 of 134). Relative to its size it is most specialised in Geometry and Topology, Condensed Matter Physics and Bioengineering.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
EngineeringField #123 of 134 6.1%262 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. Geometry and TopologySubfield · 6.5 works4.8×
  2. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 6.0 works4.5×
  3. BioengineeringSubfield · 2.2 works4.0×
  4. Statistical and Nonlinear PhysicsSubfield · 10.4 works3.9×
  5. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 18.4 works3.8×
  6. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 21.6 works3.6×
  7. Fluid Flow and Transfer ProcessesSubfield · 2.3 works3.5×
  8. Applied MathematicsSubfield · 7.8 works3.2×
← 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: 0.98× its world share, 39 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.09× its world share, 49 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.73× its world share, 6 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.71× its world share, 10 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.22× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.55× its world share, 8 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.73× its world share, 23 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.08× its world share, 71 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.36× its world share, 31 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.22× its world share, 9 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.07× its world share, 262 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.16× its world share, 48 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.27× its world share, 67 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.65× its world share, 26 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.69× its world share, 50 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.39× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.23× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.52× its world share, 84 worksMedicineNursing: 0.24× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.24× its world share, 6 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.91× its world share, 7 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.51× its world share, 9 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.17× its world share, 4 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.16× its world share, 17 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 2.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Which keywords describe research in North Korea?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Machine Learning, Mechanical Properties, Deep Learning, Nonlinear Systems, Buckling Behavior, Vibration Analysis, Neural Networks and Nanocomposites.

▲ 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. Machine Learning32▲ 1.18×60 topics
  2. Deep Learning30◆ 1.06×61 topics
  3. Climate Change24◆ 1.05×57 topics
  4. Neural Networks22▲ 1.66×31 topics
  5. Mechanical Properties20▲ 2.4×25 topics
  6. Nanoparticles19▲ 1.79×34 topics
  7. Biomedical Applications18▲ 1.85×29 topics
  8. Nanocomposites17▲ 2.5×21 topics
  9. Energy Efficiency15▲ 1.91×22 topics
  10. Oxidative Stress15◆ 1.09×41 topics
  11. Nanomaterials15▲ 1.65×16 topics
  12. Remote Sensing14▲ 1.35×27 topics
  13. Graphene14▲ 2.4×11 topics
  14. Catalysis12▲ 2.2×19 topics
  15. Vibration Analysis12▲ 5.1×7 topics
  16. Nonlinear Systems11▲ 6.2×7 topics
  17. Biosensors11▲ 2.5×11 topics
  18. Buckling Behavior10▲ 16×2 topics
  19. Numerical Simulation10▲ 3.8×11 topics
  20. Microstructure9▲ 2.1×18 topics
  21. Metal Recovery9▲ 5.2×3 topics
  22. Finite Element Method8▲ 10×5 topics
  23. Materials8▲ 4.2×6 topics
  24. Stability Analysis8▲ 5.9×6 topics
  25. Semiconductors8▲ 3.1×4 topics
  26. Efficiency8▲ 3.0×5 topics
  27. Superconductivity8▲ 5.3×9 topics
  28. Fluid-Structure Interaction8▲ 5.8×5 topics
  29. Nonlinear Dynamics7▲ 3.8×6 topics
  30. Stability7▲ 3.6×7 topics
  31. Microstructural Evolution7▲ 5.5×4 topics
  32. Molecular Dynamics7▲ 4.8×7 topics
  33. Metamaterials6▲ 5.4×5 topics
  34. Optical Modulators6▲ 5.0×3 topics
  35. Rare Earth Elements6▲ 5.0×4 topics
  36. Composite Plates6▲ 23×1 topic
  37. Functionally Graded Materials6▲ 23×1 topic
  38. Nanophotonics5▲ 6.7×2 topics
  39. Fixed Point Theorems5▲ 41×1 topic
  40. Metric Spaces5▲ 41×1 topic

Which universities in North Korea lead research?

Institute of Natural Science, Kim Il-sung University and Kim Chaek University of Technology rank highest in North Korea on research quality in 2022–2025.

0%10%20%mean 8.05%fractional works (log) →share in the world top 10% →Institute of Natural Science: 287, 17.6%Kim Il-sung University: 173, 7.2%Kim Chaek University of Technology: 232, 3.6%Pyongyang University of Science and Technology: 104, 3.8%Institute of Natural…Kim Il-sung UniversityPyongyang University…Kim Chaek University…
above the meannear itbelow it

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

  1. 1Institute of Natural ScienceUniversity · Pyongyang · #4,228 worldwide17.6% top 10% · 287 works
  2. 2Kim Il-sung UniversityUniversity · Pyongyang · #16,634 worldwide7.2% top 10% · 173 works
  3. 3Kim Chaek University of TechnologyUniversity · Pyongyang · #21,243 worldwide3.6% top 10% · 232 works
  4. 4Pyongyang University of Science and TechnologyUniversity · Pyongyang · #23,330 worldwide3.8% top 10% · 104 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 North Korea

Who are the top researchers in North Korea?

Chol‐Jun Yu, Song‐Jin Im and Francis Strobbe rank highest among researchers based in North Korea.

  1. 1 Chol‐Jun Yu · #1,122,384 worldwide 101 citations · 34 works
  2. 2 Song‐Jin Im · #1,150,097 worldwide 21 citations · 17 works
  3. 3 Francis Strobbe · #1,245,787 worldwide 0 citations · 15 works
Top researchers in North Korea

How open and international is North Korea's research?

54% of its research is openly available (world: 40%), and 48% is written with international co-authors (world: 18%).

openly available54.3%not open45.7%

World: 63% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors48.2%domestic only51.8%

World: 22% is written across borders.

How has North Korea's research grown?

Output in 2018–2022 was 124% 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 North Korea