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Government institution · Brussels · Belgium

European Union

In research, European Union stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,122 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#3,030 of 5,988 worldwide) and Political Science and International Relations (#666 of 1,187 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations and Law (Political Science and International Relations is 13.5× its share of world research).

World rank, 2022-now
#5,033
of 22,385 · #5,527 all time
Rank in Belgium
#21
of 105
Research works
3.9k
▼ 10% vs 2018-21
Citations
50k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.7%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.00×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
34%
world 40%
International
33%
world 18%

What is European Union known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,122 of 9,585 10.2%278 #4050
Social SciencesField #3,030 of 5,988 10.8%174 #3980
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #666 of 1,187 10.3%98 #813
Physical SciencesDomain #8,085 of 10,670 8.8%89 #9595

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where European Union 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#4,050 #2,122
  2. Social Sciences#3,980 #3,030
  3. Political Science and International Relations#813 #666
  4. Physical Sciences#9,595 #8,085
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does European Union work in?

In 2022-now, 60% of research at European Union is in Social Sciences, 24% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (37%), Economics, Econometrics and Finance (10%), Engineering (8%). It does 2.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 307 fractional works · 60.0% of its workSocial Sciences: 191 fractional works · 37.3% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 103 fractional works · 20.1% of its workSociology and Political Science: 39 fractional works · 7.6% of its workLaw: 20 fractional works · 4.0% of its workEducation: 6 fractional works · 1.2% of its workAnthropology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCultural Studies: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workUrban Studies: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSafety Research: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workTransportation: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDemography: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCommunication: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDevelopment: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPublic Administration: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 52 fractional works · 10.1% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 35 fractional works · 6.9% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 9 fractional works · 1.8% of its workFinance: 7 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 32 fractional works · 6.3% of its workStrategy and Management: 17 fractional works · 3.3% of its workAccounting: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Information Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArts and Humanities: 15 fractional works · 2.9% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workReligious studies: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHistory: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArcheology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhilosophy: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPsychology: 11 fractional works · 2.2% of its workClinical Psychology: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSocial Psychology: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 6 fractional works · 1.2% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 121 fractional works · 23.5% of its workEngineering: 41 fractional works · 8.0% of its workMechanical Engineering: 7 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBuilding and Construction: 6 fractional works · 1.1% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAerospace Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMedia Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArchitecture: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnvironmental Science: 25 fractional works · 4.9% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 8 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPollution: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Science: 24 fractional works · 4.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 8 fractional works · 1.5% of its workInformation Systems: 7 fractional works · 1.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science Applications: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 9 fractional works · 1.8% of its workGeneral Energy: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 6 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGeophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMaterials Science: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workChemistry: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 54 fractional works · 10.5% of its workMedicine: 38 fractional works · 7.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSurgery: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEpidemiology: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPhysiology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInfectious Diseases: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNeurology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHealth Informatics: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEmergency Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 9 fractional works · 1.7% of its workHealth Professions: 14 fractional works · 2.7% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 9 fractional works · 1.8% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workDentistry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 31 fractional works · 6.0% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 16 fractional works · 3.2% of its workFood Science: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPlant Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInsect Science: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 9 fractional works · 1.8% of its workMolecular Biology: 5 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGenetics: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workALL ITS WORKEuropean Union512fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences6%Physical Sciences24%Health Sciences10%Social Sciences60%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences19137.3%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance5210.1%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting326.3%
    4. Arts and Humanities152.9%
    5. Psychology112.2%
    6. Decision Sciences61.2%
    1. Engineering418.0%
    2. Environmental Science254.9%
    3. Computer Science244.6%
    4. Energy91.8%
    5. Physics and Astronomy61.1%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences50.9%
    7. Materials Science50.9%
    8. Chemistry40.7%
    9. Mathematics20.4%
    10. Chemical Engineering00.1%
    1. Medicine387.4%
    2. Health Professions142.7%
    3. Dentistry10.3%
    4. Nursing00.0%
    5. Veterinary00.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences163.2%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology91.8%
    3. Neuroscience20.4%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology20.4%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics10.2%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does European Union specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 13.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 102.9 works14×
  2. LawSubfield · 20.4 works6.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

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: 0.67× its world share, 16 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.33× its world share, 9 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.40× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.28× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.53× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.44× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.60× its world share, 24 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.58× its world share, 5 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.97× its world share, 9 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.53× its world share, 41 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.99× its world share, 25 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.26× its world share, 5 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.37× its world share, 2 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.51× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.60× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.02× its world share, 14 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.39× its world share, 38 worksMedicineNursing: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.01× its world share, 15 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.95× its world share, 32 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.22× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 4.72× its world share, 52 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.72× its world share, 11 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.95× its world share, 191 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 4.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Economics, Econometrics and Finance4.72×52 works
  2. Social Sciences2.95×191 works
  3. Energy1.97×9 works
  4. Business, Management and Accounting1.95×32 works
  5. Decision Sciences1.22×6 works
  6. Health Professions1.02×14 works
  7. Arts and Humanities1.01×15 works
  8. Environmental Science0.99×25 works
  9. Psychology0.72×11 works
  10. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.67×16 works
  11. Computer Science0.60×24 works
  12. Dentistry0.60×2 works
  13. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.58×5 works
  14. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.53×1 works
  15. Engineering0.53×41 works
  16. Physics and Astronomy0.51×6 works
  17. Chemistry0.44×4 works
  18. Immunology and Microbiology0.40×2 works
  19. Medicine0.39×38 works
  20. Mathematics0.37×2 works
  21. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.33×9 works
  22. Neuroscience0.28×2 works
  23. Materials Science0.26×5 works
  24. Chemical Engineering0.25×0 works
  25. Veterinary0.12×0 works
  26. Nursing0.09×0 works

Who are the top researchers at European Union?

Ranked on the quality score, Walter Hübel, Kathleen Gutman and Hans Tompa lead among researchers whose main affiliation is European Union.

  1. 1 Walter Hübel Belgium · #1,082,915 worldwide 2.3k citations · 36 works
  2. 2 Kathleen Gutman Belgium · #2,939,989 worldwide 337 citations · 62 works
  3. 3 Hans Tompa Belgium · #3,185,295 worldwide 1.7k citations · 42 works
  4. 4 Jacques‐René Rabier Belgium · #3,673,658 worldwide 428 citations · 119 works
  5. 5 Emile H. Braye Belgium · #3,856,093 worldwide 1k citations · 20 works
  6. 6 Sonja Puntscher Riekmann Belgium · #4,097,580 worldwide 417 citations · 52 works
  7. 7 Lothar Ehring Belgium · #4,194,986 worldwide 323 citations · 22 works
  8. 8 Jean-Claude Piris Belgium · #4,357,291 worldwide 1.4k citations · 84 works
  9. 9 Colin Robertson Belgium · #4,438,990 worldwide 250 citations · 39 works
  10. 10 Mary Ellen McCarthy Belgium · #4,474,676 worldwide 337 citations · 29 works
All ranked researchers at European Union

What are the most cited papers from European Union?

The most cited paper from European Union is "Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults" (Nowell H Phelps et al., 2024), with 2,401 citations. Next come "Speciation of Heavy Metals in Soils and Sediments. An Account of the Improvement and Harmonization of Extraction Techniques Undertaken Under the Auspices of the BCR of the Commission of the European Communities" (1,600) and "Staphylococcus aureus and its food poisoning toxins: characterization and outbreak investigation" (965).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults Nowell H Phelps et al. · The Lancet Open access1,753 authors 29 Feb 2024 2,401
2 Speciation of Heavy Metals in Soils and Sediments. An Account of the Improvement and Harmonization of Extraction Techniques Undertaken Under the Auspices of the BCR of the Commission of the European Communities A.M. Ure, Ph. Quevauviller, H. Muntau et al. · International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry Jun 1993 1,600
3 Staphylococcus aureus and its food poisoning toxins: characterization and outbreak investigation Jacques‐Antoine Hennekinne, Marie‐Laure De Buyser, Sylviane Dragacci · FEMS Microbiology Reviews Open access 19 Oct 2011 965
4 Polarimetric SAR speckle filtering and its implication for classification Jong-Sen Lee, M.R. Grunes, Gianfranco D. de Grandi · IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 1999 859
5 The complete DNA sequence of yeast chromosome III Stephen G. Oliver et al. · Nature 147 authors May 1992 850
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at European Union?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, European Union, Democracy, Judicial Review, Globalization, Constitutionalism, ECHR and European Legal Systems.

▲ 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-now 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. Human Rights60▲ 11×45 topics
  2. European Union44▲ 39×19 topics
  3. Globalization39▲ 3.9×61 topics
  4. Democracy33▲ 18×16 topics
  5. Judicial Review30▲ 69×5 topics
  6. Constitutionalism27▲ 59×4 topics
  7. Sustainability26▲ 2.1×50 topics
  8. ECHR25▲ 142×1 topic
  9. European Legal Systems25▲ 142×1 topic
  10. Climate Change24▲ 1.71×44 topics
  11. Sustainable Development24▲ 2.9×43 topics
  12. International Law21▲ 13×22 topics
  13. Governance20▲ 12×12 topics
  14. Global Governance18▲ 15×17 topics
  15. Economic Development16▲ 4.0×21 topics
  16. European Integration16▲ 56×5 topics
  17. Renewable Energy15▲ 2.1×28 topics
  18. Institutionalization15▲ 32×4 topics
  19. Sovereignty15▲ 32×7 topics
  20. Geopolitics15▲ 19×10 topics
  21. Artificial Intelligence15▲ 2.0×25 topics
  22. Political Dynamics14▲ 103×2 topics
  23. COVID-1914▲ 2.1×19 topics
  24. Compliance14▲ 94×3 topics
  25. Innovation14▲ 2.5×25 topics
  26. multi-level13▲ 139×1 topic
  27. normative power13▲ 139×1 topic
  28. Economic Growth13▲ 3.1×20 topics
  29. Political Economy11▲ 8.6×10 topics
  30. Financial Crisis11▲ 19×10 topics
  31. Monetary Policy11▲ 9.0×8 topics
  32. Schengen Area10▲ 75×2 topics
  33. Industrial Policy9▲ 16×4 topics
  34. Social Movements8▲ 5.6×8 topics
  35. Fundamental Rights8▲ 87×2 topics
  36. Environmental Policy8▲ 7.5×6 topics
  37. Energy Transition8▲ 10×4 topics
  38. Legal System7▲ 15×2 topics
  39. State Sovereignty7▲ 31×2 topics
  40. Economic Evaluation7▲ 12×3 topics

Which research topics does European Union publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: European and International Law Studies, European Union Policy and Governance, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and European Criminal Justice and Data Protection.

  1. 1 European and International Law Studies Political Science and International Relations 25 works
  2. 2 European Union Policy and Governance Political Science and International Relations 13 works
  3. 3 Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies Economics and Econometrics 6 works
  4. 4 European Criminal Justice and Data Protection Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  5. 5 International Arbitration and Investment Law Strategy and Management 6 works
  6. 6 Global Energy Security and Policy General Energy 5 works
  7. 7 Climate Change Policy and Economics Economics and Econometrics 5 works
  8. 8 Political and Social Issues Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  9. 9 Human Rights and Immigration Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  10. 10 Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 4 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 available34.5%not open65.5%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors33.4%domestic only66.6%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has European Union's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 10% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is European Union as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0016% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%European Union0.0021% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of European Union over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%European Union10.6% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 19.8% in 2008.

Other research institutions in Brussels

All research institutions in Brussels

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European Union on Science Explorer

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