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Nonprofit · London · United Kingdom

British Council

In research, British Council stands highest in Social Sciences (#5,234 of 16,945 worldwide), Social Sciences (#3,556 of 10,206 worldwide) and Arts and Humanities (#2,461 of 3,836 worldwide), over all time.

britishcouncil.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#19,956
of 42,892
Rank in United Kingdom
#1,085
of 2,253
Research works
618
▲ 102% vs 2013–17
Citations
7.9k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
20.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
18%
world 28%

What is British Council known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Social SciencesDomain #5,234 of 16,945 18.9%456
Social SciencesField #3,556 of 10,206 15.2%246
Arts and HumanitiesField #2,461 of 3,836 29.4%138

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where British Council sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksAgricultural and Bio…Neuroscience: 0.92× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceComputer Science: 1.21× its world share, 4 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.68× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceDentistry: 1.08× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.90× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.64× its world share, 5 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 4.71× its world share, 5 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.14× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.68× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.46× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.58× its world share, 4 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.78× its world share, 13 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 4.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at British Council?

Ranked on the composite score, Gerald Vinten, Sydney D. Bailey and Clive Parry lead among researchers whose main affiliation is British Council.

  1. 1 Gerald Vinten United Kingdom · #95,066 worldwide 92 citations · 59 works
  2. 2 Sydney D. Bailey United Kingdom · #219,761 worldwide 32 citations · 51 works
  3. 3 Clive Parry United Kingdom · #283,049 worldwide 41 citations · 32 works
  4. 4 Kenneth Cracknell United Kingdom · #839,798 worldwide 0 citations · 17 works
  5. 5 E. W. F. Tomlin United Kingdom · #1,020,132 worldwide 2 citations · 30 works
All ranked researchers at British Council

Which keywords describe research at British Council?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Second Language Learning, Globalization, Corpus Linguistics, Language Teaching, Social Media, Conflict, Governance and International Law.

▲ 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 institution'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. Globalization3▲ 4.0×8 topics
  2. Social Media2▲ 4.3×7 topics
  3. Machine Learning2▲ 1.81×5 topics
  4. Second Language Learning2▲ 63×2 topics
  5. Corpus Linguistics2▲ 25×3 topics
  6. Language Teaching2▲ 20×3 topics
  7. Conflict2▲ 27×5 topics
  8. Clinical Trials2▲ 5.7×2 topics
  9. Economic Growth2▲ 4.6×4 topics
  10. Governance2▲ 12×2 topics
  11. International Law2▲ 13×2 topics
  12. Myopia2▲ 67×1 topic
  13. Visual Impairment2▲ 83×1 topic
  14. Geopolitics1▲ 22×3 topics
  15. Hegemony1▲ 135×2 topics
  16. Higher Education1▲ 6.5×3 topics
  17. Reading Comprehension1▲ 63×2 topics
  18. Cultural Studies1▲ 8.1×3 topics
  19. History1▲ 4.4×4 topics
  20. Language Policy1▲ 22×2 topics
  21. Lexical Diversity1▲ 116×1 topic
  22. Literature1▲ 5.7×4 topics
  23. Multilingualism1▲ 18×2 topics
  24. NGOs1▲ 31×2 topics
  25. Online Learning1▲ 3.9×2 topics
  26. Poverty Reduction1▲ 25×3 topics
  27. Student Engagement1▲ 8.2×3 topics
  28. Teacher Training1▲ 5.1×2 topics
  29. Vocabulary Acquisition1▲ 116×1 topic
  30. Security1▲ 4.6×3 topics
  31. CLIL1▲ 39×1 topic
  32. Colonialism1▲ 5.5×4 topics
  33. Content and Language Integrated Learning1▲ 39×1 topic
  34. Development Policies1▲ 74×1 topic
  35. Ethnicity1▲ 7.0×4 topics
  36. Foreign Aid1▲ 74×1 topic
  37. Global Governance1▲ 12×2 topics
  38. International Relations1▲ 11×2 topics
  39. Phonetics1▲ 106×1 topic
  40. Speech Perception1▲ 32×1 topic

Which research topics does British Council publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies, Second Language Acquisition and Learning, Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies and Second Language Learning and Teaching.

Ophthalmology and Visual…2Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies: 2 fractional worksSecond Language Acquisit…1Second Language Acquisition and Learning: 1 fractional worksAcupuncture Treatment Research Studies: 1 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 1 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 1 fractional worksPhonetics and Phonology Research: 1 fractional worksOnline Learning and Analytics: 1 fractional worksComplementary and Altern…1Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies: 1 fractional worksInternational Relations and Foreign Policy: 1 fractional worksGlobal Peace and Security Dynamics: 1 fractional works
EpidemiologyDevelopmental and Educational PsychologyComplementary and alternative medicineLiterature and Literary Theory4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies Epidemiology 2 works
  2. 2 Second Language Acquisition and Learning Developmental and Educational Psychology 1 works
  3. 3 Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies Complementary and alternative medicine 1 works
  4. 4 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 1 works
  5. 5 International Development and Aid Development 1 works
  6. 6 Phonetics and Phonology Research Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 1 works
  7. 7 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 1 works
  8. 8 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies Complementary and alternative medicine 1 works
  9. 9 International Relations and Foreign Policy Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  10. 10 Global Peace and Security Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available17.9%not open82.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors14.4%domestic only85.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has British Council's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 102% 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.

Other research institutions in London

All research institutions in London

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.