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University · Islamabad · Pakistan

National Defence University

In research, National Defence University stands highest in Social Sciences (#5,108 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#6,454 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#3,845 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations and Economics and Econometrics — Political Science and International Relations is 13.9× its share of world research.

ndu.edu.pkROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#10,323
of 28,054 · #17,947 all time
Rank in Pakistan
#115
of 241
Research works
829
▲ 185% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.1k
3.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
17.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
65%
world 28%

What is National Defence University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #5,108 of 10,521 18.2%229 #6616
Physical SciencesDomain #6,454 of 12,888 17.7%125 #12749
Social SciencesField #3,845 of 6,365 17.7%156 #4941
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #819 of 1,201 19.9%77 #1450

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Defence University 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).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#6,616 #5,108
  2. Physical Sciences#12,749 #6,454
  3. Social Sciences#4,941 #3,845
  4. Political Science and International Relations#1,450 #819
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

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

What does National Defence University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 13.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 77.2 works14×
  2. Economics and EconometricsSubfield · 24.8 works4.2×
← 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: 0.25× its world share, 4 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.49× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.01× its world share, 29 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.68× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.32× its world share, 4 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.93× its world share, 52 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.70× its world share, 13 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.31× its world share, 4 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.77× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.68× its world share, 14 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.45× its world share, 4 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.10× its world share, 7 worksMedicineNursing: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.60× its world share, 6 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.70× its world share, 20 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.73× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3.90× its world share, 31 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.82× its world share, 9 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.30× its world share, 156 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 3.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Defence University?

Ranked on the composite score, Ahmad Saeed Khan, Zafar Khan and Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Defence University.

  1. 1 Ahmad Saeed Khan Pakistan · #760,004 worldwide 8 citations · 22 works
  2. 2 Zafar Khan Pakistan · #958,642 worldwide 15 citations · 16 works
  3. 3 Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman Pakistan · #1,184,659 worldwide 23 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at National Defence University

Which keywords describe research at National Defence University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Conflict, Security, International Law, Central Asia, Globalization, Nation-Building, State-Building and Reconstruction.

▲ 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. Conflict36▲ 60×7 topics
  2. Security34▲ 14×15 topics
  3. Globalization30▲ 4.1×36 topics
  4. International Law27▲ 24×11 topics
  5. Central Asia23▲ 86×4 topics
  6. Nation-Building21▲ 105×2 topics
  7. Reconstruction21▲ 33×3 topics
  8. State-Building21▲ 155×2 topics
  9. Afghanistan21▲ 221×1 topic
  10. Pakistan21▲ 221×1 topic
  11. Human Rights19▲ 5.1×23 topics
  12. Geopolitics18▲ 32×6 topics
  13. Global Governance18▲ 21×9 topics
  14. Climate Change18▲ 1.75×34 topics
  15. Diplomacy17▲ 49×4 topics
  16. Environmental Impact14▲ 2.3×19 topics
  17. International Relations14▲ 16×11 topics
  18. Economic Growth14▲ 4.5×15 topics
  19. Sustainable Development14▲ 2.4×19 topics
  20. Soft Power11▲ 77×2 topics
  21. Ethnicity11▲ 7.9×8 topics
  22. Energy Security10▲ 76×2 topics
  23. Economic Development10▲ 3.4×19 topics
  24. Global Trade10▲ 14×5 topics
  25. International Institutions10▲ 128×1 topic
  26. Power10▲ 38×1 topic
  27. Colonialism10▲ 5.4×11 topics
  28. Transport Infrastructure10▲ 30×3 topics
  29. Terrorism10▲ 54×2 topics
  30. Belt and Road Initiative9▲ 69×2 topics
  31. Democracy9▲ 6.7×10 topics
  32. Information Warfare9▲ 76×2 topics
  33. Infrastructure Development8▲ 101×2 topics
  34. Regional Integration8▲ 63×2 topics
  35. Environmental Impact Assessment8▲ 30×2 topics
  36. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor8▲ 212×1 topic
  37. Social Well-being8▲ 212×1 topic
  38. Governance8▲ 6.2×7 topics
  39. Maritime Security7▲ 213×1 topic
  40. Peacebuilding7▲ 28×3 topics

Which research topics does National Defence University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East, International Relations and Foreign Policy, Belt and Road Initiative and Maritime Security and History.

Politics and Conflicts i…21Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East: 21 fractional worksInternational Relations …10International Relations and Foreign Policy: 10 fractional worksBelt and Road Initiative8Belt and Road Initiative: 8 fractional worksMaritime Security and History: 7 fractional worksSouth Asian Studies and Conflicts: 6 fractional worksMilitary History and Strategy: 6 fractional worksNuclear Issues and Defense: 6 fractional worksPeacebuilding and International Security: 5 fractional worksEuropean and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies: 5 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 4 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsEconomics and EconometricsTransportationSociology and Political Science1 others

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

  1. 1 Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Political Science and International Relations 21 works
  2. 2 International Relations and Foreign Policy Political Science and International Relations 10 works
  3. 3 Belt and Road Initiative Economics and Econometrics 8 works
  4. 4 Maritime Security and History Transportation 7 works
  5. 5 South Asian Studies and Conflicts Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  6. 6 Military History and Strategy Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  7. 7 Nuclear Issues and Defense Political Science and International Relations 6 works
  8. 8 Peacebuilding and International Security Sociology and Political Science 5 works
  9. 9 European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  10. 10 International Development and Aid Development 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 available64.9%not open35.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors30.9%domestic only69.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Defence University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 185% 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 Islamabad

All research institutions in Islamabad

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.